


Coalesce In Darkness

by vampirexchild



Category: My Chemical Romance
Genre: Alternate Universe, Biting, Blood Kink, Bottom Frank Iero, Character Turned Into Vampire, Dracula Influence/References, Falling In Love, Gay, Gothic, Human/Vampire Relationship, M/M, Mild Blood, Mild Sexual Content, Unresolved Romantic Tension, Vampire Gerard Way, Vampires, mild may be an understatement
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-16
Updated: 2019-02-24
Packaged: 2019-07-13 04:49:11
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 24
Words: 128,812
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16010612
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vampirexchild/pseuds/vampirexchild
Summary: At a young age, Frank Iero is exposed to the hidden world of vampires. After never finding or seeing the man who saved his life one night again, Frank is on a desperate hunt for him. That is, until the night they cross paths again after deep rooted longing, his world shifts into one filled with bloodlust, self-discovery, and an unfurling romance unlike any other.





	1. Runaway

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! If you've seen this story on Wattpad, fear not, that's where the original has been written. Written with much love from me to all of you.

 

Frank Iero knew he wasn't supposed to be out late. He was too small and vulnerable to be wandering out on his own when the sun was falling, it was one of the strictest rules his parents set down for him many times. In a state like New Jersey, no one wanted their child to be running amuck where they couldn't keep an eye on them. The crime rate had gone up to an alarming rate this winter and everyone kept their doors tightly locked, assuring their children were near them at all times. Prying eyes were out and about and who knew what sort of blood those people sought out for. Frank was only allowed to play when the sun was out and shining over the earth, which would have been enough for him if he hadn't been so consumed with his studies. His mother kept him in a homeschooling program after he suffered from severe bullying in public school. Beatings on the bus, being shoved in trashcans, getting chunks of his hair cut during class when the older boys thought it was getting too long and girly. The school district did nothing when the abuse was reported, only forcing the group of boys who bullied him to sit far away from him in class. But when they discovered Frank ratted them out, they returned with a vengeance. After being put into the current program he was getting his education from, he barely had enough time to run around outside and rid of the energy constantly bubbling inside him. Other energy was spent instead, the kind that left him sluggish and disappointed. Homeschooling gave out triple the work public school did and Frank wasn't too pleased with the amount of writing he had to do. His mother made sure he didn't miss any of his assignments and that all of his answers were correct. He didn't have enough fingers on both of his little hands to count the amount of times he had to redo his math and science homework. He barely had time to be a child when he was always expected to be mature and perfect, getting perfect grades or else both of his parents would be disappointed in him.

Frank didn't have any friends to socialize with either, which discouraged him frequently. When he did have his small circle of them while he attended public school, he was never allowed to go to their houses because his parents were overly strict and uneasy over their son entering a stranger's house. His friends and their families were only strangers to them, not to him. Eventually, the invites faded off and they all slowly became disinterested in Frank when they became absorbed in video gaming, going to each other's houses for a match of Halo or whatever game was most popular. Frank wasn't allowed to have electronics, that included a ban from video games due to the graphic depictions of violence, although it baffled him that other children were still enabled to play the games no matter how much gore they displayed. Frank wasn't allowed to do or have anything fun, his parents claimed that they were raising him as a normal child by not having him be sucked into the world of the internet and social media. It should have been reasonable enough, but the longing placed inside him was due to the knowledge that no child was as restricted as he was anymore. He wasn't even allowed a considerate amount of television, only briefly in the evening and on the weekends. He hated their ways, how sheltered he was compared to the rest of the kids he knew. His parents were the exact reason why he was out after the sun had set. Frank would do anything to drown out the sound of their fighting at this point, the yelling eventually driving him to the point where he wanted to run as far away as possible so he wouldn't have to witness their marriage falling apart before his eyes. Frank couldn't stand another second of it and ran out the front door without either of them noticing during their heated argument over something that was possibly irrelevant. Frank ran down the street in tears, pumping his little legs as fast as he could with his jacket hanging off of his shoulders after he quickly threw it on. It was cold, _achingly_ cold outside, and the beginning of snow was just beginning to flutter down from the darkened sky.

Frank was panting in hot puffs of air that appeared in front of him in the form of humid and translucent clouds. They disappeared almost as quickly as they had come. He didn't know where he was going or why he continued to run when it dawned on him that he was traveling quite a long ways from home, but he continued to push himself forward as quickly as his seven year old body allowed him to. Tears kept streaming down his face and rolling towards his neck, staining his pale skin. Frank wandered off until he couldn't recognize his surroundings anymore. The streets were dampened from rain and the snow slowly falling from the sky, the air smelled of wet cement and gasoline along with a whiff of cigarette smoke, and the houses around him were run down, beaten up and ridden with fissures. He slowed and nearly jumped out of his skin when he heard a cat attacking another stray nearby, a terrifying noise for a little boy. Frank whimpered and zipped up his jacket all the way to keep the cold out. His nose was turning red and his small body trembled in both fear and regret. Frank didn't trust knocking on anyone's door and asking for help. He wasn't allowed to talk to strangers because you could never know what a person's true intentions are. This was an area where only the bad lived, he just never realized it was only a few blocks away from his own street. Frank squinted into the distance, seeing the city lights up ahead where all of the stores and the schools were laid out. If he made it through this neighborhood quick enough, he would be able to safely enter a store and ask to borrow their phone to call his mother. He hoped they were out looking for him now, all he wanted was the comfort of being home and not in an unknown area.

Frank kept wandering, making through the streets and ending up behind a large factory that had closed up for the nights. The tall wrought iron fences were rusted and intimidating, casting long shadows along the damp floor. Frank's heart was racing and he was slowly becoming more afraid now that he was passing by this industrial factory where he swore he could see the darkness around it moving and shaping into various things. When he turned his head, it stilled. Frank shrunk further into his jacket and walked faster in an attempt to reach the city square as soon as possible. He could hear the faint rumble of traffic and police sirens, meaning he was close. He curled his hands into tiny fists inside his pockets in an attempt to keep them warm as more snow began to fall. It was sticking to the ground and he began to worry - he wasn't wearing enough layers for this type of weather.

As Frank continued along the road, he heard a rustle from the darkness. He froze up, his breath stuttering at the sound. He turned his head to the side, facing the shadows the noise had come from. Nothing moved, and nothing out of the ordinary happened.

"Must be a . . . a silly cat." He mumbled to himself and sighed deeply. He gulped and forced himself to look away from the dark and into the line of lights in the distance he was slowly getting closer to. Frank continued to walk after he convinced himself it was only an alley cat wandering through the leftover garbage and construction debris set off to the side.

But it happened again, this time much closer to him. It didn't sound like any sort of silly cat he imagined it would be. This time, it was a low, feral growl, but not one any animal could make. This was too human, too _sinister_ for it to belong to any wild dog or cat. Frank's eyes widened, his head snapping up so he looked into the shadows again. There was no other sound that followed the growl he heard. Instead, he was met with a pair of glowing red eyes floating in the dark. The whites of them were entirely red, swallowing the iris and leaving the black and pulsing pupil to spare. Frank could only decipher them as the eyes of a monster.

Frank screamed and took off. His instinct was to run as fast as he could, hoping he could outrun the monster watching him from the darkness. Multiple times, his mother told him that monsters weren't real and he shouldn't be afraid of anything coming after him. He managed to persuade his own self that he was being silly and in order to be a big boy he always claimed he was, he couldn't believe in monsters hiding in his closet. It was all a bunch of tall tales made up by other people in an attempt to scare everyone. Now, as Frank witnessed that pair of eyes staring at him through the dark, there wasn't a doubt in his mind that they were real and they were out to get him. Frank could hear the sound of air rushing past him as he ran. It wasn't only from him moving, but it was coming from beside him. The thing was following him, running after him, and there was no way he could outrun it because of how easily it kept up. Frank's body was still small and his legs were short, they could only carry him for such a distance in a short amount of time. Frank wished his legs were longer so he could be further ahead, safe from the monster.

Frank screamed out in terror when something wrapped its hand around his arm and forcefully yanked him off track. He stumbled, body flailing, but he couldn't fight the inhuman strength dragging him into the dark as easily as plucking a flower from the ground. He felt the bitter cold of the monster's hand seeping through the material of his jacket and the harshness of the fingers no doubt bruising his delicate skin. He heard another vicious snarl so much closer to him than it had been before and he found himself being pinned to the stone wall of the factory. The pain bursting through the back of his head left him dizzy, his vision blurring, and the cold sting of his back hitting the wall was a painful pinch radiating through his entire body. Frank screamed again when his vision cleared and he focused on the animalistic red eyes he saw veiled by shadows only moments ago. The monster showed itself in the form of a man with skin as pale as snow, his lips pulling back over his teeth to reveal two pairs of sharp, elongated fangs poking out from his gums, needle sharp tips glistening under the sliver of light flashing across it. Frank was paralyzed in fear, his eyes as wide as they could be. He was going to die, he was going to be eaten by this _monster_ and left to be a tragic story on the news for people to grieve over. He never got to say goodbye to his parents, his family, he never made it past the age of seven years old. Frank sobbed loudly as the monster leaned in, aiming for his neck with his sharp and murderous fangs.

The wind was knocked out of Frank again when he was suddenly released from the iron grip keeping him up against the wall. He tumbled to the ground and landed in a heap, huffing in pain when his knees and palms hit the hard road underneath. He looked up in a daze, his eyes ringing and his heart beating too quickly for him to be able to stand. His head snapped up when he heard a loud cry, followed by the sound of struggling. He looked only a few feet to the right and watched as two figures tumbled on the ground, fighting and punching, a blur of black and white skin from how quickly they were moving. A moist, sharp cracking sound echoed through the alleyway and Frank looked away before he could see what it had been, only hearing the choked scream that was abruptly cut short by another loud snap. He trembled on the ground and tightly shut his eyes in hopes that this was all a nightmare he would wake up from any moment now, he would slowly open his eyes again and see that he was safely tucked into his bed in his familiar room, resuming in his belief that monsters were not real and one had _not_ almost attempted to kill him.

Frank heard a faint click, followed by the familiar sound of flames igniting. He saw the glow of fire from behind his thin eyelids, hear how they moved around and caught onto whatever had been used to start it. Frank opened his eyes a bit, slowly turning his head to take a peek at what it was.

"Don't look, child." A voice suddenly spoke from beside him where there was an empty space just a second ago. Frank let out a short scream, rolling onto his back and trying to crawl away from it.

"No, wait, I'm not trying to hurt you." The voice softened. It sounded male, taking on a naturally soothing quality that contrasted heavily with the growls Frank heard this evening. Frank stopped crawling and whimpered. He slowly pushed his hood away from his face to look at the figure crouched over him.

He saw an angel peering down at him. That was the only thing he could describe this person as, the one who saved him from the monster trying to eat him. The angel was a man, looking down at Frank with merciful olive green eyes that sparkled prettily like the stars were trapped inside of them. His face was just as pale as the other creature's had been, but it was smooth and suited him nicely. His veil of dark hair framed his angelic face, falling down past his delicate chin in tangles.

Frank smiled up at the angel, feeling safe and content once more. The angel looked surprised for a moment, but he smiled back. His lips pulled back from his teeth only a bit, but they parted enough for Frank to see the same razor sharp teeth the monster had. Frank gasped loudly, his heart kick starting in fear.

The angel's smile fell. "I won't hurt you, I promise. Only monsters eat little children. I don't."

Frank glanced nervously at his mouth, unsure if he should trust his words. Some part of Frank told him that he was telling the truth. After all, he didn't share the same scary eyes with the creature who tried to kill him.

"What - what was that? What are you?" Frank's voice trembled.

The angel pressed his lips together and said nothing. He reached out for Frank and swiftly scooped him into his arms like he weighed as much as a feather. Frank squealed, scrambling to wrap his arms around the man's neck. Frank blinked for just a moment when he felt air warping around him, the cold quickly hitting his face and dousing him, and a few more seconds passed until it was over. When Frank opened his eyes again, he was more than shocked to see familiar houses lined up on a street he had not been on just before he let his lids fall over his eyes. He gasped softly, the winter air stinging his lungs on the way in.

The beautiful man set Frank onto his feet on the familiar grass of his own front yard. His mouth hung open when he looked up and saw that he was standing in front of his house again. The lights were on inside, but the car was missing from the driveway. Most likely his parents were out frantically searching for him, worried sick over his sudden disappearance.

"How did you know where I live?" Frank titled his head up to look at the pretty man standing by his side.

He merely smiled, extending his arm out and ruffling Frank's hair. "Don't go out at night, little one, it's far too dangerous. The world is filled with monsters, we just don't see them until it's too late."

Frank blushed softly. "You saved my life, mister."

The angelic and pale man titled his head to the side slightly in an odd manner, slowly blinking down at Frank. His pupils were alive in his irises much like the other creature's had been, but they were pulsing wildly, only shrinking and growing back into their normal size in a rhythm resembling a heartbeat.

"I suppose so."

In a blur of black and white, he suddenly disappeared from Frank's side. Frank looked left and right, spinning around in case the angel man was behind him, but he had completely left without a trace of his existence left for Frank to take with him. He stood there for a long moment, quietly wishing the man hadn't left, because he never got a chance to thank him from saving him from the clutches of the evil monster. Gerard resembled the monster in a few ways, but a person who was evil would never take the time to save anyone from danger. Perhaps he was a monster taken in by heaven for him to become an angel.

Frank made his way inside his house and dropped himself onto the sofa. Only then did he begin to feel pain and disorientation from his attack and from spending so long in the cold without the proper clothing. He was only wearing a t-shirt underneath his thin jacket and his jeans did nothing to lock heat inside. He shivered violently, waiting for his parents to come home.

When they did enter the house, it was hours later. They looked defeated, cried out, aged at least twenty years after searching endlessly for their son. Frank was only half awake, dizzy and in shock, not being able to stop shaking despite his aching muscles. The moment his parents saw him sitting on the couch disheveled and dirty, they raced towards him.

"Oh Frank, my baby, _you're here!_ " His mother cried and crushed him against her chest. His father kissed the top of his head, cradling the tender back of it.

"Mommy, a big monster tried to eat me." Frank whimpered. "He almost did, but an angel came and rescued me. He took me home."

"Oh my god, Frank. Who tried to hurt you, who saved you?" Frank's mother pulled away and cupped her son's face in her hands, tears rushing down her face.

"A big monster! He had ugly red eyes and - and sharp long teeth, he was super strong and too fast! The man who saved me was the same, but his eyes were nice. He saved my life." Frank explained as best as he could in his state, shivering harshly.

"Frank, that wasn't a monster, just a bad man who tried to hurt you." Frank's father stroked his hair.

Frank frantically shook his head. "No, dad, he was a monster! Both of them weren't human, I know what I saw!"

"Honey, we need to get you in a hot bath right now, you are freezing cold." Linda stroked his cheek with concern. "I think he's going into shock." She murmured to her husband, taking in her child's pale face and blown pupils along with the tremors.

"Mommy, you have to believe me." Frank whined while his mother picked him up and carried him to the bathroom.

"Monsters do exist, Frankie." she whispered, her eyes filling with tears. "They live inside the people you least expect them to."


	2. Chapter 2

 

_7 years later_

 

The memory of Frank's savior never left his mind as he grew up. It was burned behind his eyelids every time he laid down to go to sleep, the picture of a perfect face with razor sharp teeth hidden behind the pale delicate lips of a man who couldn't be over the age of twenty. Memories were meant to fade and wither with time, but this was one Frank couldn't chase away even if he wanted to. But he didn't want it to disappear, if anything he clung to it like it was a life saving device for his body floating in the vast blue ocean. He still heard his voice when he dreamed, whispering his name and being the only source of light in a pit of consuming darkness. Frank never learned his name, his age, what he was. The man was not of the human race, anyone who took a look into those eyes and saw the pointed teeth would agree with him. Something about the resonating memory about him struck a chord inside of him, one he almost recognized, and it swept into his ever-growing thankfulness.

For the longest time, he had no one to agree with him. His parents insisted his childish mind had made up some sort of evil monster out of the man who tried to hurt him and a saint out of who saved him. Children were innocent and their feeble minds wrapped around any creative image they came up with, but Frank knew he hadn't made a single detail up, everything he witnessed that night was as real as himself and all of the people denying him. He stopped attempting to get his parents to believe him and set out on his own trying to figure out what exactly he had seen that night. He checked out multiple books from the library by the time he was ten and was finally old enough to be dropped off and left to read on his own for a few hours. The librarian was quite fond of his soft-spoken nature and polite personality, so she allowed him to take home as many books as he pleased as long as he brought them back. Frank carried around books on mythical creatures, legends, even romance novels involving supernatural characters. He never showed his parents these books out of fear of them taking them away and preventing him from visiting the library again. In secret, he educated himself and crossed out the possibilities that didn't match with what he read.

He learned about werewolves first. The eyes were one thing that had him leaning in with eagerness, but werewolves were in fact half wolf and half man, only growing vicious teeth when they shifted. They looked nothing like the monster and the man Frank was attempting to figure out. Demons were another thing that appeared a close call, but a demon wouldn't save the life of an innocent child without trying to get something in return for it. Sirens were out of the question, so were the rest of the water myths, fallen angels were only beautiful faces with wings no matter how similar they appeared to the man who rescued him, and everything else didn't add up until he reached one creature that set off alarms in his mind.

Frank should have been embarrassed to say his first vampire novel was Twilight. He requested the most popular vampire novel made at the time and the librarian handed him the first book, fairly thick and ominous with pale hands gingerly cupping a crimson red apple. Apparently, the book was equally hated and loved, but it didn't matter to him when he was on a mission. As soon as he dove deep into the off-white pages, he immediately found a resemblance between Edward Cullen and the man he saw - not the same, but the similarities couldn't be ignored. The pale skin, the striking beauty, the odd eyes that seemed alive and more piercing than an ordinary pair of eyes. Frank put the book down and went to retrieve more information about vampires. He finally found the missing piece of his puzzle. Vampires were creatures who craved human blood, they were immortal night stalkers who played the role of a predator. Many versions were written about them, but vampires were a myth that dated back to centuries ago, always painted as evil beings feeding off of the human race. They appeared in ancient paintings, walls of pyramids in Egypt, other scriptures still being investigated to this day. Nowadays, they starred in books, television shows, movies, video games, everything imaginable in the modern world. Romance eventually swept away their most evil appearance, but no one could deny that these creatures were dangerous due to their diet. They were as beautiful as angels, but their appearance was used as bait to lure their prey. Frank didn't remember the creature that attacked him being beautiful, but he was too terrified to pay attention to detail when it was lunging for his throat. The one who carried him to safety, however, fit into all of these roles. Everything fit into place and he came to the final conclusion that whoever saved him was a vampire. The myths had obviously come from somewhere, people as ancient as those in the Egyptian era had to have seen one of their kind if drawings of them became imbedded in their sacred walls. Frank wondered how they became nothing short of a myth when there were so many signs that the unimaginable lived and stalked, hidden where no one could find them. Frank found his savior in the darkness, perhaps that was where he stayed at all times.

Frank spent years watching films about vampires, reading on even if the book was terribly predictable with the weak female lead falling in love with one of the creatures. He looked into websites of people who claimed to be real vampires - but Frank knew they were lying just from taking one look at them. He fell into the world of the mythical beings while knowing the truth, filling his brain with so many versions of vampires that he was unsure which one filled the picture. He had an encounter with two of them, but he didn't hold all the knowledge in the world about their true nature. Now, at fourteen years old. Frank was completely absorbed into another world away from his own. The only way he stayed connected was by forming a comradeship with the girl who moved in across from his house one year ago. Her name was Jamia Nestor, also a person heavily interested in the history and tales of vampires. She was a dark haired girl adorned in shirts and sweaters promoting the bands Frank was not allowed to listen to, but he did anyways in private. After he received his own phone, he took advantage of it by listening to all of the music on YouTube and then deleting the history so his parents wouldn't discover he was breaking the rules.

Jamia was his best friend, and despite her being everything his parents didn't want Frank to be, they accepted her for making him smile on the daily. She was the first real friend Frank ever had and he was more than grateful that she shared the same interests with him, it helped him fall deeper into his research. But as more time passed, Frank began to wonder what he was looking for. He gained his answers, learned what to make of the night where he was miraculously saved, and yet he continued to spend day and night reading and watching multiple stories about vampires and the way other people perceived them. It wasn't until Jamia made one suggestion that sent his mind into a frenzy, causing him to enter more dangerous paths on his road to discovery.

Frank stepped out of his house onto his front lawn where he would wait for Jamia to exit her own house and cross the street to meet him there. The day was cold from the winter, but the sky remained a pale blue with the sunlight glistening in the center. Frank sighed softly at the warm sunbeams washing over his skin in contrast to the cold and crisp air he breathed into his lungs. He was dressed in a plain shirt and sweatpants, although he wished he brought a jacket to drape over his form while he waited for his best friend to emerge. Both his parents were working, his mother on one side of town while his father worked on the other. Despite the two of them still being married and working to make money to pay the bills, they were separated. His father slept in the guest room and his mother rarely spoke a word to him. Frank knew they only stayed together in such a stiff situation for him, but he would rather they split and live in different households so dinner wouldn't be as uncomfortable and quiet as it was every night.

When Jamia opened her front door, he could hear her yelling a goodbye to her mother before she shut the door and tugged a black Ramones sweatshirt over her head. She made her way across her front yard and onto the vacant street, her dark hair glistening in the glare of the sunlight.

"Frank Iero, it is freezing outside and you're wearing a short sleeved shirt?" Jamia placed her hands on her hips and stopped in front of him.

"It was just for this, I have the heater on inside." Frank tugged her sleeve and turned them both towards the front door that was slightly open.

"Thank god, our heater's broken." Jamia shivered. They stepped inside the house, immediately enveloped by the warm puffs of air coming from the vents. Frank shut the door to keep any of the cold from coming in, locking it securely as he was instructed to.

Jamia ventured into the kitchen, opening the fridge and taking out a can of Coke. Cracking it open, she raised her eyebrows at Frank.

"What's the agenda for today, kid?"

"I found another website about vampires. But this one describes exactly what I saw down to every last detail, and it had even more information that actually makes sense." Frank pulled out his phone.

"I should have brought my laptop for this." Jamia sighed and slid into the kitchen bar stool beside Frank. "What's it say?"

"Whoever wrote this blog calls them The Damned. They say that these vampires are pale as snow, beautiful, their eyes turn red when they're starving but maintain their original color when they've recently fed." Frank pointed to an illustration of an angelic being made with watercolor posted beside the text. "They have abnormal speed and strength, their intelligence should not be underestimated, and they have two sets of fangs. One layering the other to make it easier to rip out the throats of their victims."

"Gnarly." Jamia sipped her soda.

Frank scrolled further down. "They have the power of seduction to lure in their prey. They can be abusive of their sexual nature, though, some live for the sex."

"Is this person trying to tell me we live in a world with kinky vampires?"

Frank glared at her sideways and the girl gestured wildly with her hands.

"Okay, if we're being serious, then I'll just say it makes sense. If you're so beautiful and you could have anyone you wanted, wouldn't you take advantage of that?" She arched her thin eyebrow. Frank flushed deeply, shaking his head.

"Off topic, Jam." He mumbled.

Jamia rolled her eyes and returned her attention to the screen. "Do you think this blog is the real deal? I mean, if it perfectly describes everything you saw, I wouldn't doubt that someone else has seen them too."

"I wouldn't doubt that either." Frank selected the image the blogger had drawn of the vampire on the other side of the text. This one was different from the other, drawn in rough colored pencil and much darker than the soft tones of the water color. It was a female, blindingly beautiful but dangerous with her full lips pulled over her perfect sharp teeth and her eyes glowing a red that could only be described as a violent shade taken from hell. Frank's mind flashed back to the pair of eyes he witnessed in the darkness, he heard the faint echoes of feral growls coming towards him. He squeezed his eyes shut and closed the tab with the image.

"I'm going to get my laptop so we could get further into this." Jamia hopped off the chair and landed smoothly on her feet. "See if the blogger has their name written somewhere on there, we could try and look for them."

Frank nodded as Jamia quickly left the room and exited the house to revisit her own again. Frank scrolled all the way to the bottom of the page in search for the blogger's name, and thankfully, he found it. Their name was Rosemary Simms, Frank was assuming they were a she from the feminine sound of the name. There wasn't any other information other than the fact that she lived in Ohio, but he didn't think he would find out a whole lot about this person just from a blog posted on a website dedicated to vampires. Frank scrolled past the images of the vampires she drew once again, a cold shiver rattling in the core of his spine.

When Jamia returned, it was with her MacBook laptop decorated in all sorts of faded stickers and quotes written in purple marker. She set the device on the counter as she slid into her seat again, opening it and turning the laptop on.

"Did you catch the name?" Jamia asked.

"Rosemary Simms." Frank showed her the spelling of her name so she wouldn't misspell it while looking her up. Jamia nodded and pursed her lips, opening her internet explorer once her device turned on successfully.

Jamia quickly typed in the name of the blogger. Frank had an odd feeling in the pit of his stomach about this girl or possible woman. If she knew so much about vampires, how close did she have to get to one of them to obtain such golden information? Frank tapped his fingers on the counter nervously as he quickly cleared his internet history and set his phone aside.

The first result for Rosemary Simms was the blog they were just viewing. Frank recognized the website, the title and the quick preview of the content inside under the address link. Images showed pictures of random pretty girls, possibly pulled from various social media accounts of girls sharing the same name. But when they scrolled further down, Frank's stomach dropped at the news article he read.

'The unsolved and brutal murder of 19 year old Rosemary Simms.'

"You don't think that's . . . her, do you?" Jamia bit her lip.

Frank reached over her and clicked on the article. It was from an official news website, meaning it was one hundred percent reliable. On the side was a high school photo of a young girl with dark hair and gray eyes, smiling softly at the camera. A photo of Rosemary.

"'On November 29th, the body of teenager Rosemary Simms was found dumped in a garbage bin one morning by an unfortunate trash truck driver. He recalled seeing an arm hanging out of the side of the large bin and went to investigate only to walk into a scenario only found in horror films.'" Frank read out loud, his voice becoming increasingly shakier. "'The girl had just been filed as a missing person when she never returned home from a party with her friends one Friday evening. The teen's throat had been ripped out and bruises were found around her wrists and her shoulders, along with trauma to the back of her head. Mysteriously, her body was drained of . . . all blood.'"

Frank shared a look with Jamia, one where their faces went pale and painful recognition sparked in their eyes. Frank went cold after reading the last piece, something in his brain clicking together.

"Fuck, Jamia-" Frank cut himself off, sliding the laptop across the counter so it was set in front of him. He kept the tab open and went back to the previous one, containing her blog. He found the article once again and scrolled to the top where her personal blog was linked. As he entered it, he was granted access to all of her posts, the colors dark and with splashes of red to fit her theme of vampire obsession. The titles were incredibly unnerving in the order they were, from first to last.

_'Are Vampires Real?'_

_'Creatures of the Night'_

_'Myths and Facts'_

_'Vampire Movies are Bullshit'_

_'I've seen it.'_

_'Vampires - the Real Breed'_

_'They've seen me'_

_'Don't ever do this'_

_'They're coming for me.'_

Frank paused over the last one listed. The chilling, eerie sound of it, a line straight out of a horror novel before blood was shed and nothing ended as it should have. Jamia tugged his arm and begged him not to read it when it was all becoming too real, but he couldn't resist. He needed answers, he wouldn't sleep if he didn't obtain any. He clicked on the blog, being sent to the page with the short white text against a black background **.**

_'I've provided you will all I know. I thought it would be something amazing, knowing what and how they really are. They're so beautiful, he was so beautiful, and I just wanted to share it with the world. But I feel them stalking me. Hissing at me. Watching me. They're coming for me, this was not my story to tell. I exposed them. If it keeps them safe to kill me, I'll let it happen. Stupid Rosemary.'_

"Frank, please, I can't take reading anymore of this." Jamia slid out of her seat, looking pale and dizzy from all of the information there was to take in. Frank stared with watery eyes at the last words of this girl, one who was willing to die to protect these vampires. But all of it was still here, anyone would be able to put the pieces together if vampires weren't ruled as fictional beings. It was almost too easy to come to a conclusion for her death, her case was not a mystery. It could only remain open if the people investigating it looked at it strictly through the eyes of logistics.

"They didn't want anyone to know." Frank whispered. His eyes fell on the date of the last blog she entered. November 27th; two days before they found her body.

His stomach flipped in a wave of nausea. Frank squeezed his eyes shut and closed the tabs. If he investigated any more, he'd make himself sick. Knowing what killed her, the reason for her death, it was too heavy of a weight to carry around. He couldn't enter a police station and tell the officers vampires murdered Rosemary, he'd be deemed as a lunatic with his head in the clouds. Frank rubbed his eyes slowly, a headache forming behind them.

"They really are monsters." Jamia breathed and leaned against the counter with her arms folded over her chest.

Frank shook his head, gulping. "Not all of them. There had to have been some sort of reason for this."

"Frank, one out of a possible thousand doing a good thing doesn't make them heroes." Jamia sighed. "These vampires killed this innocent girl just to save their own asses. One almost killed you, a little boy who was alone and scared."

It was hard to defend creatures you knew little about. Frank only saw them through two images, one of a cold blooded killer and one of a beautiful angel. Perhaps the vampire that killed Rosemary was the same one who'd attempted to murder Frank, rip his throat to shreds and leave his body to be found in a dumpster just like hers. His angel wasn't there to save her, but he wished he had so no one would have to grieve over the loss of an innocent girl.

"The one I saw was good, Jam." Frank insisted. "I'd do anything to see him again."

"And what, end up like this girl? The vampire you saw saved you, but he is still a vampire."

"It isn't like that." Frank shook his head.

"If you're so enthralled by this dude, then why don't you go out and find him just to learn that I'm right?" Jamia snapped, placing her hands on her hips and whirling around. The second the words came out of her mouth, sudden realization flooded into Frank's body. He slowly lifted his head, his eyes widening on the way and it clicked inside his mind what this research was all about, the void in his chest that was never satisfied no matter how much he discovered from reading books and articles online.

"Jamia." Frank slammed his hand on the counter and stood up.

Jamia flailed her arms, surging forward and grabbing Frank by his upper arms. "No! A million times no, whatever ideas I put in your head need to be thrown in the garbage and set on fire this instant."

"No, you're right!" Frank began to grin like a mad man. "I have to see him again. And then maybe, well, maybe we could figure out why this happened to that girl."

"No," Jamia begged. "She said they were coming for her after she exposed them. What if you knowing about this gets you killed, too?"

Frank gently shook her hands away from his arms, his grin softening. "Mia, it'll be okay. This vampire I met is good, he wouldn't do something like that. I just want answers, I want to thank him for what he did for me because I never got a chance. Then this will all be over and I'll feel complete." He reassured her to the best of his ability. He wasn't afraid, not in the slightest bit with the image of his hero painted in warm hues behind his eyes.

Jamia looked extremely hesitant and weary. Her experience with vampires was unpleasant, it was never in the flesh but in the form of books and horror films. The vampires everyone thought them to be, and some of them were as they were depicted. Not Frank's vampire, never.

"Help me look for him?" Frank raised his eyebrows, his pleading eyes capturing his best friend's gaze.

Jamia didn't agree immediately, she shuffled uncomfortably and looked away for a period of time. After a long moment of silence and her thinking it over, she finally sighed, lifting her gaze once again and meeting Frank's with it. "Okay. If one goes down, then so does the other."

"It won't come to that." Frank pursed his lips.

"You've seen one, but you don't truly know him."

The both of them were startled when they heard the sudden flickering of the television coming from the living room. Frank saw the family dog scurrying away from the room and entering the hallway, hurrying into his room. He scrunched his brows and peered into the living area, finding the remote on the ground where the dog must have stepped on it and turned the television on. He picked it up, thumb hovering over the power button to shut it off. His plans changed when he focused on the screen.

" . . . was found washed up on the shore here in New Jersey. The body was of 21 year old Grace Greenwood who had not been reported missing, most likely due to the fact that her murder was recent. Police officers are baffled to see that her murder is eerily similar to that of the seven year old unsolved case of Rosemary Simms amongst other unidentified bodies found drained of all blood and dumped in a place where they were never meant to be found. Officers do have a theory this may be a serial killer with a cruel tactic, perhaps a copy cat of the first round of mutilated drained bodies scattered around the United States. Police have yet to find any other bodies of a similar fate, but for now, they are keeping their eyes peeled for any more similar cases."

Frank and Jamia stared motionlessly at the television. They were revisited by a photo of the victim, followed by one of Rosemary they viewed just moments ago. Somehow, her photo seemed mocking now, teasing everyone with the unknown while Frank and Jamia knew the reason for her demise. But no one would believe them, not now and not ever, and they were forced to live with the real knowledge for the rest of their lives.


	3. Discovery

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Frank finds exactly what he's been looking for.

_7 years later_

 

Frank tapped his foot impatiently as he waited for his best friend to arrive to his apartment. The clock kept ticking on the wall and the sound was pestering enough to drive him insane. His dog paced anxiously at his feet, sensing his impatience and feeling negatively about it. He reached down to pet her coarse fur, scratching behind her ears in a way that never failed to calm her down. She turned her small head and ran her tongue over his fingers. He smiled softly, but it quickly faded when he checked the time again. Jamia was running fifteen minutes late, and being the punctual person he was, he grew more anxious by the second. His eyes swept across the opened and unopened boxes randomly scattered around his home. Frank had just recently escaped from his mother's house and moved into his own place after he'd worked enough to create a budget for a place to live. He wasn't quite finished unpacking, but other matters came up. They were much more important than worrying whether he should organize his closet by color or not organize it all. He had plenty of time to figure out such mundane things any other day of the week.

Frank stood up, walking over to his pin up board filled with notes and faded photographs that came from a shitty printer he had years ago. Newer ones scattered around, a much clearer and colorful addition to the mess he managed to tie everything running through his head together. Years of research, investigating and uncovering cases, not giving up without a fight. His search was unless, but he believed he'd done enough of looking to finally do what he craved to do for many years. As the years went by, rumors spread around the world about the strange murders arising. It always came in bursts, bodies discovered and cases left unsolved. Bodies drained of blood, trauma to their bodies in the shape of fingers gripping too hard, but somehow, leaving no fingerprints behind. They were dug up from areas where the murderer must have thought they would never be found again. Somehow, they were always found, making a perfect headline for the news. Eerie enough for people to be afraid of it, but fascinating to the point where theories surfaced as the bodies did.

One was a vampire mimicking cult. The theory that stuck to every surface of the internet, making it into the news and rising awareness throughout the world. The cult was said to be a worldwide group of people who attempted to murder as a vampire would to rise fear out of people, make them believe in something that was only a myth. They wore gloves to conceal any track of their DNA, cut open the throat and mutilated it to drain the blood and dumped the body in a place where they knew it could be discovered. It was what the world believed, but not Frank. He knew the truth, no one needed to mimic a vampire because a real vampire was doing the job of terrifying the people spread all over the globe. Vampires, the various ones wherever they took cover.

Frank, however, was on the lookout for one vampire in specific, _his_ vampire. Seven years ago in New Jersey, the city experienced a strange string of murders that all mirrored each other. Blood completely drained from them, torn out throats, no signs of the murderer left to solve the case. Jersey went on lockdown, setting a curfew and instructing the citizens to keep their houses locked up and their phones close to them at all times in case anything were to happen. It took place during all of December, ending in February and never returning again. But it didn't end completely, the murders only moved to another place in the United States; California, all the way across the country. Frank looked up a select few key words one day when he was doing research, wondering if these murders only recently began.

They hadn't.

Every seven years, ever since such information could be recorded, there was an arising of horrendous murders place in a different parts of the world. The first one always landing on the date of December 16th. They lasted for a few months, at times only one, but they were all the same. These people would come out and kill before going into hiding once again, waiting for everyone to forget to return again and satisfy their bloodlust. Every place in the world had seen such sights, it was a dizzying to see an abundance of articles and theories flying out of the screen and into Frank's brain, shoving their way in and permanently imbedding themselves there. Some believed these were vampires who were wreaking havoc, others believed in the story about a forever lasting vampire mimic cult who wanted nothing but to terrorize.

Frank focused on New Jersey. He began to see a pattern, one that ranged every fourteen years. Whoever these vampires were, or if it was one single vampire, they were careful with their schedule and allowed large spaces in between each visit to give the people time to let the memory and the fear fade before they struck again. For Jersey, the murders were never as brutal as they were in other places in the world. No dismembered body parts, no mutilated beyond recognition corpses found in alleys, only bloodless bodies, as if this being had some sort of soft part in them for the state. Frank couldn't figure out why, for there could have been many reasons for it. But, oddly enough, their pattern had been broken.

When the vampire returned seven years ago, it was seven years too early. One of the recorded dates of terrorism was the time when Frank was nearly killed by a vampire, only to be saved by another. He couldn't remember his parents ever speaking about it or seeing it on the news, but he did recall that they stopped going out for dinner and shopping at night time for a brief period of time. That would give the vampire another fourteen years to wait before they stepped foot into New Jersey again. They failed to keep the pattern, breaking it by returning seven years ahead of their regular timing. Frank couldn't figure out the reason why they would break their schedule as such, perhaps they were starving and they couldn't wait for any longer. But some of these murders were not as neat as the many others. Remains of blood were found, wrists were also shredded open, some bodies were carelessly dumped to the side for anyone to pass by and see. Frank could tell right away that this was a different set of predators, not the usual ones that visited.

Frank gathered all of this information, and yet, he couldn't track down his vampire. He was well hidden, an abundance of planned murders were not enough for him to connect the dots. There was the possibility that it wasn't his vampire that was responsible for all of this, it may have only been a coincidence that he found the latter that night when the killings began. He still clung to his research, digging deep into the world of vampire information living on the internet. He dug through multiple blogs, people finding the identity of true vampires to also discover that all of these people went missing shortly after. Some say the bloggers went insane, they went into hiding, or they were killed by those who they wrote about. It wasn't until he came across website that he found exactly what he was looking for.

'Angel of New Jersey' was what the portrait was called. A tall canvas made by a professional artist fourteen years ago, made with splashes of black and red along with the light shades of green and the faint flush of blue to serve as the background. Frank went into a quiet shock the day he found it. Staring back at him was the pale, beautiful face of his vampire. His lips twisted into the ghost of a smile, his hypnotizing eyes holding close to no emotion within their eerily bright irises. His hair curtained around his white face, a tangled mess of black strands. He blended into the shadows like he himself was one of them, melting into the blackness like a apparition. That he was, coming and then vanishing like he never existed at all.

Frank contacted the artist, an old woman named Annamarie. She told him the story behind the painting, the night she saw a beautiful stranger distantly watching a holiday parade pass through the streets, a vision underneath the dim glow of the streetlights above him.  She'd seen him before, fourteen years ago, coming from the abandoned and boarded up home a block down the road from the yearly parade. He'd just come back from revisiting the century old mansion whose owners mysteriously left it many years ago. She was doing free paintings off to the side, waiting patiently for anyone to approach her. But the man, she told Frank he was so beautiful that she couldn't resist taking matters into her own hands and asking if she could paint him. He gave her consent and she created the painting, but before she could thank him, he'd already vanished. With a considerable amount of money, he purchased the painting, and it was sitting with a sheet over it underneath his wall of research. Fourteen years ago, meaning Frank's vampire was the face behind the murders coming around in such a pattern. Fourteen years passed since Frank first saw him, and now that December 16th approached, Frank had a mission he needed to complete. Tonight, he was going out to wait at the old abandoned mansion the vampire had an attachment to, and tonight, he would meet his savior again.

Jamia finally arrived almost an hour late, coming in with a heavy coat and her nose reddened from the cold outside. "I'm so sorry I'm late, Frank, Evan called and you know how he has those problems with my mom." She huffed, shutting the door behind her and setting her spare key on the counter. Frank had given her a key so she could visit any time she wanted, he was close enough with her to be comfortable if she decided to come in the middle of the night and eat his food if she really wanted to.

"It's fine, it's probably better that I go later in the night anyways." Frank smiled, greeting her with a quick shoulder hug.

"So, where are you going at this hour?" Jamia raised her eyebrows, brushing her bangs away from her face.

Frank bit his lip, knowing Jamia would be weary about his answer. All these years, Jamia had grown less and less keen over him tracking down his vampire, saying it was unhealthy to let himself be completely consumed by it. She may have been correct, but none of it mattered when it paid off. 

"Jamia, I . . . I think I found my vampire."

Jamia's dark eyes nearly bulged out of her skull in surprise. Her mouth opened, eyebrows raising so high that they could have touched her hairline. "You- what, _how_? How can you be so sure?"

Frank went to his board of research, approaching the covered painting propped up against the wall. "I found this on an old woman's art website, I managed to buy it off of her for one hundred dollars." Carefully, he grasped the sheet and slid it off the masterpiece.

Jamia took in the painting, her eyes roaming every color and shape on the canvas. Slowly, she crouched down so she was at level with the vampire's face, her fingers gently brushing against the bottom of the portrait as she carefully drank in every feature of his face.

"Is this . . ." Jamia breathed and trailed off.

"It's him." Frank nodded and looked into the eyes of the painted version of his savior. "The artist told me she saw him fourteen years ago for the first time coming out of that abandoned mansion a couple of streets away from here. Then, fourteen years later, she saw him again, coming from the same place, and she decided to paint him. She hasn't seen him since."

"The murders, the night he saved you." Jamia's eyes grew large as she put the pieces together for herself.

"It's December 16th, fourteen years later, the night he comes back." Frank stood straight, draping the sheet over the painting once more to keep it concealed from any dust or his nosy little dog Jamia was here to take care of for a few hours, maybe more. "I need to see him, get answers and thank him for what he's done for me."

"Frank, how many times do I have to tell you that this is insane? What makes you think a vampire will settle down and tell you all of his secrets just because you asked for them?"

"I'm not a stranger to him, Mia, he has to remember me. I deserve answers for being the only person alive who knows about this chaos." Frank slid on his coat, shoving his house keys into his pocket.

"The fact that you're the only person alive who knows is a perfect reason for him to kill you." Jamia grasped Frank's arm, her eyes alight with alarm. He looked into those familiar eyes and he could see the fear living behind them, the fear that he truly would be killed tonight and she would mourn over her best friend. He softened, all of this reminding him of their short argument the first time he announced his search for his vampire.

"You've gotta trust me, Mia. If he really wanted me dead, he would have found me by now and done the deed. I know what I'm doing." Frank gently pried her hand away from his arm. Jamia was left speechless, motionlessly standing in the kitchen as Frank grabbed his pepper spray, something you wanted to carry with you in a state like this, and his car keys. He headed out the door and safely locked it behind him, looking around before he climbed down the stairs of the apartment complex until he reached ground level.

He was nervous. Of course he was, he couldn't think of a living soul who wouldn't be when it came to finding a vampire. He was only reassured that this vampire had humanity left inside of him, he hoped none of it faded off in the fourteen years they spent apart. Frank thought so fondly of this vampire, but he only stayed with him for such a short period of time. Nonetheless, Frank wanted to see his face again, be in the presence of someone he owed his life to. As he got into his car and turned the heater on, he took in a deep breath, letting it all set in. Years of searching, of gathering evidence, it all led up to this much anticipated moment in his life.

"We'll show Jamia she's wrong." He said to his own reflection. Wide and eager hazel eyes, soft brown hair sweeping down to his neck and curling in at the ends. He looked nearly the same as he did when he was younger, he maintained the innocent gaze and the soft skin and hair of someone of a lesser age. His face structure matured, as did his body, but he didn't quite feel like a man yet despite being twenty one years old. Frank shook off the feeling of being out of place and set off on his mission. If luck was on his side, it would be a mission completed.

 

 

The old mansion at night was eerier than it was during the day. The boards nailed over the windows poorly concealed the broken, dirty glass sticking out jaggedly from the frames. Fissures broke out over the foundation of the house, the stone pillars chipped and withered from the harsh treatment of the sun. The pointed ceiling was crumbling away, some holes allowing moonbeams to shine through it. It was a place where you expected to see ghosts staring back at you from the windows up by the disintegrating balcony up on the top floor. Frank shuddered looking at it, his eyes following a raven that had just flown up from the top of the pointed roof and went to land in a tree a couple of houses down. There was a large empty lot beside the mansion for sale, but Frank was sure no one purchased it because they feared living behind one of the oldest remaining houses in Jersey. He and the rest of the residents were unsure why the city hadn't torn the house down yet, he could only guess they didn't want to because of the history it must have had behind it. Frank could easily imagine a vampire being tied to a place as gothic as this. It belonged in the pages of a vampire novel, where the creatures lurked in the darkness and slept in coffins during the day.

Frank hesitantly stepped out of his car. He shut the door gently, locking it behind him. His eyes swept around the dark street. Most people must have been asleep at this hour, he saw minimal houses illuminated with light in their windows. He nervously glanced at the house, peering around the front. His breath caught when he noticed the front door was open a crack, the cobwebs surrounding the entrance broken like they'd been brushed aside by someone. His heart took notice as well, suddenly beating as quick as the wings of a hummingbird. He gulped, slowly making his way towards the door. Frank couldn't get his hands to stop shaking or his palms to stop sweating, nothing could help him at this point.

When he pushed the door open, he cringed at the loud creaking the hinges made from years of neglect. He glanced at them and swore he saw rust chipping and fluttering towards the ground. Frank brushed his fingers against the frame. They came away caked with dust. He cringed, not wanting to imagine how much dust infected the air inside if simply touching the doorframe coated his fingers with it. He stepped inside slowly, his shoulder brushing against the door.

The inside would have been pitch black if it weren't for the moonlight streaming in through the crumbling roof with cobwebs hanging off in spiraling, glistening threads coated in dust. The air smelled of the dust, stale and sharp, along with the subtle scent of mold and mildew. Frank wrinkled his nose, walking across the dark wooden floors that creaked underneath his footsteps. The rug was falling apart thread by thread, but Frank could tell it had once been thick and colorful as it rolled out from the foot of the grand staircase and to the doorway. On the ground was a fallen and abandoned chandelier surrounded by broken crystal, once clear but now foggy and cracked with age. A large sheet was draped over the carcass of the gigantic decoration, graying from the dust and covered in holes from the sun's powerful rays. Frank tilted his head back to examine the ceiling. The broken chains from the chandelier stayed attached, but they were rusted and dripping slowly with water from the rain that fell the night before. The art on the ceiling had long since faded and molded over with water damage, turning it into swirls of shadows in shades of black and gray.

Frank shivered, the moonlight shining down on his face. He could see the dust motes floating through the air and he batted it away, only resulting in a swirl of dust fluttering around his face. He coughed and slowly moved towards the stairs. Through the thick dust and the puddles laying on the floor, he could see fresh footprints tracking up the steps before they disappeared completely. Someone was here, whether it was a trespasser or the vampire he sought out for. He looked around, into the shadows, the broken windows boarded up but the thin slits in between each chunk of wood brought in a thin strip of light shining against the dark floors. The house was too quiet besides the drip of water falling in puddles. No hum of electricity, no movement, only dead, cold silence.

That was, until Frank heard a whoosh of air and the tinkling of the crystals brushing together from the chandelier. Frank jumped with a startle, his head whirling to the side to look at the fallen antique. The sheet had been moved. It was now falling off the side and the crystals were moving, like wind chimes in the breeze. Frank's heart started to beat quickly. It must have been a bird trapped inside, a bat in the worst case scenario. Frank took in a shuddering breath and took out his phone. Turning on the flashlight, he started to climb up the stairs. The bright source of light brought his attention to the carvings in the walls, the elegant curls of dark wood swirling up until it reached the stone squaring around the shattered, foggy windows. Old paintings hung from the walls, graying and coated in different substances. Frank reached the top of the stairs where it branched off into two sections, both being two dark halls with velvet red rugs as the walkway. The light wasn't strong enough for him to see what laid in the hallways and the dark entrance sent chills through him.

Once again, Frank was startled by a loud noise. It sounded like when a fist came down onto a piano, the screeching of the keys from an instrument that hadn't been used in years. He jumped, flashing the light into the area below the stairs. His hand curled around the pepper spray in his pocket in case he needed it. Fear was beginning to fill him rapidly and he could hear his racing heartbeat in his ears, feeling his pulse thudding under his skin that was growing cold. Another sound made itself known, the sound of splintering wood, much closer to him than it was before. Frank panicked, scrambling backwards towards the hall to his right. When he caught a glimpse of a shadow approaching him, he yelled out. Turning on his heels, he started to run down the hall. The carpet bunched up underneath his feet and nearly tripped him several times, but he needed to get away as fast as he could. Frank was only running for a short moment, sucking the rancid cold air into his lungs, before something was roughly grabbing the hood of his jacket and yanking him backwards. Frank screamed, trying to resist, but nothing could fight back against the strength of whatever had caught him. He fell backwards, hitting a solid body, and in a quick succession of two seconds, Frank was roughly pinned against the stone wall at the mouth of the hallway - _back to the start_.

He grunted at the impact of his head hitting heavy stone and was overcome with a rushing wave of dizziness. Cold hands held his throat, ripping the material of his jacket, and he was too disoriented to realize what was happening. When the fog finally faded, Frank was met with the terrifying sight of a mouth full of razor sharp teeth, glowing red eyes quickly coming towards him. He screamed, thrashing against the vampire's grip at no avail. Just when Frank thought he would be killed by those vicious gleaming teeth, everything happening around him came to an abrupt pause. He was still squirming, shutting his eyes tight. But the vampire pinning him to the wall stopped, standing frozen in front of Frank with almost every inch of his solid body keeping him in place.

Frank opened his bewildered eyes, a fearful whimper escaping his throat. When he locked eyes with the monster, shock fluttered through his being as he watched them change. The eyes, once glowing red with an animalistic pupil throbbing inside them, were slowly shrinking, making the whites of them visible again. They quickly transformed into an olive green color, alive and pulsing, and a pupil that never stopped moving in time with the usual rate of a heartbeat.

"Kid?" The vampire whispered. His fangs retracted, leaving only one set behind his parted, surprised lips. Frank's eyes ran over his face, recognizing the pale skin and the round face belonging to one of the most beautiful specimens he'd ever faced. Only now, his hair seemed wavier, sweeping across his forehead and settling into a curl framing the side of his face. Frank's heart was still pounding, but fear no longer lived in him.

"I found you." Frank breathed.


	4. Chaos

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Meeting the man haunting Frank's dreams goes terribly wrong.

The vampire drew away from Frank as quickly as possible, a flash of white lightening pressing his back against the wall across from the young man. Frank panted softly, his shoulders aching from the bruising he knew was forming on his skin from the harsh grip of powerful hands pinning him down. He brushed a thin spiral of cobweb away from his shirt, staring at the vampire in a state of awe. The moonlight slivering onto the pale man's face, his eyes glowing in the shadows and his fangs glistening behind his parted lips, he was everything Frank remembered and more. His heart still pounded quickly from almost being attacked, but the fear was quickly erased by the realization of the vampire who more than likely was only trying to feed to prevent from starvation. He stopped, recognizing who Frank was, and that was one other thing about him that amazed Frank to no end.

"What are you doing in here?" The vampire's voice was low, his voice a bit shaky around its sharp edges after shoving away his hunger.

Frank fumbled for his phone that had fallen onto the dusty ground beneath his feet. Wiping away the particles of debris and feeling the tiny fissures at the bottom of a screen placed there due to impact, he pocketed the device and focused on the vampire. "I knew you'd be here."

The vampire looked momentarily puzzled. Weariness crossed his face after the puzzled look faded away and he came more guarded, taking one more step away and drinking in the sight of Frank with his colorful eyes. "It's dangerous here, being out in this city so late at night is something you should not be doing again."

Frank almost smiled when he hinted at that night long ago when he saved Frank from the jaws of another immortal being. The slight lifting of the corners of his lips vanished at the memory of demonic eyes and an unhinged jaw, teeth attempting to rip into his skin like it was nothing but stream covering the tenderness of his bloody veins. It was a memory that plucked blooming rose petals of happiness from his mind's vault. Frank touched his neck gingerly, his hand shaking.

"I know it is. But I . . . I have so much to say to you, I couldn't stop myself from trying to find you." Frank was away of how similar he sounded to a stalker, and perhaps his obsession was unhealthy, but this was no ordinary person he tracked down. He wouldn't back away now.

"We aren't supposed to interact unless I have plans of draining you completely." The vampire stepped slowly into the light, his pupils pulsing wildly. "Neither of us want that, so I suggest you go back home and forget about me."

Frank's expression shifted into one that showed how absurd he thought the vampire's statement was. "I'm not leaving."

The pale man arched his thick eyebrow in a surprised manner.

Frank took one step forward, resulting in the vampire lifting one pale hand up and stopping him from coming any closer if he cared at all for his own safety. Their eyes locked together, both of them fearing one another to different levels and for different reasons. Frank wasn't afraid of the creature he was, he feared the possibility of him running off into the darkness and never returning as he did long ago. Slipping through the cracks of his fingers, the only memorabilia he had left being the painting carefully concealed back at home. He wouldn't be able to withstand years of research turning into a sea of nothingness now that he'd finally paved a path towards his destination, so firmly within his reach and it made his heart race.

"I haven't been able to forget about you in the fourteen years that have passed." Frank said softly. "You saved my life. You had the opportunity to have me to yourself, but you didn't. You took me home safely and left before I had a chance to thank you."

The vampire continued to stare at him with those piercing eyes swirling with color and liveliness. His face remained in the same frozen expression, his body still as a stone carving, and Frank wasn't sure if he was breathing. He licked his lips, stepping into the moonlight for the latter to see him better when he spoke.

"I've been looking for you for so long. I wanted to see you again, to thank you, and to make sure you're real and not something that my brain created. After looking for years, I learned that you couldn't be my imagination because . . . some parts of the world know about vampires. I know about you and what attacked me that night." Frank shakily brushed a lock of his hair away from his face. Looking up now, he noticed the way an eerie glistening emotion passed over the vampire's molten eyes. His lips twitched, gaze moving over the entirety of Frank.

"You have not a clue what you've tangled yourself into. I require no gratefulness and my nature is not something you were meant to find out for yourself, the consequences are dire." The vampire became rigid, shaking his head back and forth, his ebony locks coming forward to frame his pale face. The delicacy of his words, ringing rich and evidential that they came from another time, it almost distracted Frank from the meaning of them.

"Everyone who's attempted to expose you has disappeared or been killed." Frank whispered, swallowing thickly. "But I promise I won't do that to you. All I've ever wanted for fourteen years is to thank you. I assure you, I won't tell anyone about what I know."

"Promises are empty." His voice was liquid fire, a dangerous tango between silk and relentless flames. "If any one of us is exposed to the human world, we have no choice but to slaughter the human. Too many of our kind have went against these rules and risked everything, I can't be casted away as a traitor."

Frank knew what he being told. Frank needed to be killed tonight, silenced and taken to the grave to protect the secret of this ancient race no one could imagine being a real possibility. He couldn't help but notice the stiffening of the vampire's stance, how he finally looked away to avoid the gaze of the human stood across from him. Frank wondered if he found regret in speaking those words, or if he was unwilling to abide by the rules he strictly needed to follow.

"Then why didn't you kill me when I saw everything?" Frank breathed. If the rules were so implanted into the heads of all vampires, Frank should have been killed ages ago regardless of the fact that he was a child. Though he knew himself, the vampires did not, and their weariness should have had their fangs ripping into the tender and young skin of his throat to keep him silent for eternity.

"I may be a monster built to murder, but I would never kill a child." Gerard shook his head, a look close to one of a person being offended flashing across his eyes for a split second before it hardened back into the same stone cold stare Frank had trouble keeping in his line of vision for long. It was the sort of look that sunk underneath your skin and cut through the bone, wrapping around your core until the chill of it rose goosebumps to the surface of your flesh.

"I'm no longer a child." Frank challenged the vampire. If Jamia were here, she would be hitting him on the back of the head and nagging him for being so stupid as to state the obvious to a hungry vampire close to pouncing on him. He wanted to test this vampire, see if his goodness ran dry during the years they'd been apart. He believed he wouldn't be killed tonight, nor any other night.

The vampire took two bold steps forward, his lips hardening into a thin line. "You are pushing your luck, human."

"You won't kill me." Frank stood his ground stubbornly. The other man looked shocked for a moment. His pupils shrunk inside his eyes and stayed that way in the swarming olive green color filling the circles of his irises.

Suddenly, Frank was stunned by a hand as cold as ice wrapping around his throat, abruptly shoving him back against the wall in a quick flash. His back was aligned with the cold stone of the crumbling walls and the vampire was so close to him in all of his glory, his eyes glowing a violent shade of red while a solid body kept him trapped and unable to move. Instant regret came with his words and he fully realized how incredibly foolish it was of him to challenge a vampire when he was counted as prey to the pale mystery. Frank gasped, feeling the hand shaping around his throat almost pass the brink of applying pressure too tight to allow air to escape into his lungs. The vampire hissed, low and dangerous, and Frank watched with wide eyes as a set of fangs elongated behind the set already on display in his mouth, sharp enough to tear him to shreds.He believed, for a fleeting moment, that he'd been wrong to judge a vampire based on one experience many years ago. This version of him was starved and arising to perform his feast on the people of New Jersey before disappearing to another state and draining more citizens until he was satisfied. Staring into his mouth full of sharpened teeth, Frank saw the demise he unknowingly awaited for, the day curiosity would kill the cat in a rain of blood and misplaced trust. Frank gasped, wriggling, begging the vampire with his eyes not to take his life away before he had a chance to truly live it.

The vampire lunged for his throat, teeth glinting like the predatory eye of a tiger attacking its prey. Frank shut his eyes and looked away, his heart pounding impossibly fast but his body falling limp while he fought not to pay attention to the way he was being murdered. He wished there was switch somewhere in his body he could flip, one that would turn off the noise flooding into his ears and one that could make his heart stop beating before someone else had the opportunity to do so. He awaited the pain, the feeling of pulsing blood flooding into the hungry mouth of the person who once rescued him from exactly this, and his body would be found somewhere in a river for his best friend and his family to cry over while they fought to find his murderer.

But nothing ever came for his throat. No pain intruded his body from teeth sinking into his flesh, no blood poured out from any open wounds on his body. Frank fell to the ground in a heap, his knees making a great impact on the carpeted stone. He groaned at the pain shooting up his thighs, his kneecaps throbbing from the rough landing and his skin heating up like it did whenever it bruised. He gasped for air, scrambling to further down the hall, looking around wildly to find the vampire once more.His eyes found the vampire, but instead of meeting the sight of a predator preparing to pounce once more, he found a pale and beautiful man pressed against the wall far away from Frank, his eyes wide and his chest rising and falling rapidly. He stared at Frank, his expression crumbling into one piercing deep into the human and bringing out shock, shock so deep he felt it in his bones. Frustration, hatred, especially as the vampire punched the wall behind him and left a large dent in the foundation. Frank flinched, feeling the vibration of the hit echoing in the walls and causing tiny crumbles of cement to fall onto the floor.

"I can't." The vampire growled, his eyes filling with a lining of red. It alarmed Frank, watching such an odd color rising into the whites of his eyes and tinting the whites of them when he blinked. A trickle of blood fell from the corner of his eyes streaking across his porcelain pale flesh and leaving a trail of red in its wake. Frank was trembling, pressing his palm against the floor and attempting to heave himself back up into a standing position despite the shaky state of his legs. Everything he processed was slightly blurred, but not from the way his entire body swayed and weakened after seeing death and its reaper. The reaper who wept blood and couldn't bring himself to complete his task. Frank stayed silent, he had nothing to say and his throat was permanently tightened, he'd choke on any words he'd attempt to let out.

Again, the vampire moved. He struck quicker than the blink of an eye, raising his balled up fist and bringing it down onto the stone wall again with a crack as loud as the strike of thunder rumbling in a blanketed gray sky. Frank reeled back at the startling noise and his heart jumped into his throat. The impact of such strength hitting fragile walls caused a misfortune to rattle both of the men to their cores. Underneath the vampire's fist was a large fissure implanting itself into the wall, rumbling and expanding, tiny lines traveling up the cold stone until they branched out and became wider, heading towards the roof at an alarming rate. Frank panicked when the vibrations coming from the blow began under his feet and dust began to fall from the crumbling fixtures up above. The sound ricocheted throughout the house, traveling underneath the cement and concrete until it all split open and the wooden composure holding the place together began to groan and crack just like the rest. Frank looked up in horror as one of the wooden planks from the ceiling snapped in half, falling at an alarming rate before hitting the ground in a pile of splinters, sending dust flying in every direction followed by the strong sent of wet, molded vegetation. Frank slammed his palm against the wall and backed away, a strangled noise escaping his throat to express his shock. Going pale, he watched another thick plank fall, this one being one of the main supporters of the mansion, breaking in half with tiny shards scattering across the ground.

"Move!" The vampire cried out suddenly. Frank's head snapped up, rounded eyes looking at the latter who looked like he'd just witnessed a crash on the sight. His heart skipped a beat and terror filled him, his body jerking back.

Suddenly, Frank was encased by a coldness resembling that of the ice creating glaciers on the sea. The world around him became a blur, but nothing could block out the thundering noises of the mansion falling apart, the fixtures spiraling towards the ground and the walls splitting open. When everything around him finally stopped blurring out, he gasped out loud, his head snapping in every direction to take in the scenery. He was all the way across the mansion from where he'd been standing, and in his place was a sharpened plank of thick and molded over wood, something that surely would have crushed him if the vampire's arms hadn't wrapped around him and saved him from a brutal death. Saving his life once more.

"We have to get out of here." The vampire's voice sounded strained, a note higher than usual. It was hard to hear over Frank's heavy heartbeat and the ringing in his ears, the groaning and eerie screeching of the mansion turning into ruins.

"Where?" Frank called out over the noise, looking up into the pale and gaunt face of the man protecting him.

"You're coming with me." The vampire tightened his hold around Frank, and again, they were flying. Everything around Frank was a blur of black and gray, flashes of the moonlight passing by him in a moment quicker than a wink, and the red of the carpet was blood brushing against the canvas of the short abundance of color whirling around him. The air was cold as it slapped against his skin in streamers, but nothing could beat the freezing hands gripping him tightly and keeping him off of his feet, the strong body and arms shielding him from the collapsing house he wandered into only moments ago. He quickly realized, as he looked up at the vampire, that they were not flying, but running towards something he knew nothing about.

Frank shut his eyes, shrinking into the vampire's arms and waiting for everything to end. At this point, he knew he would not be returning home tonight or any time soon, and he accepted that he may be killed while under the supervision of a vampire whose life he'd interrupted. Instead of mold and the suffocating stench of wetted dust, he smelled the scent of old pages in a book, the echoing sharpness of blood, and the pleasant scent of smoke after blowing out the flame of a warm scented candle. The smell of the vampire, filling Frank's head while being so close to him. He clung to it to block out the rest of the chaos, the ruin he feared he may have caused.

When it was over, Frank was set down onto his feet and air around him stilled. The coldness enveloping him disappeared, but he was still trembling, dizzy and overwhelmed. Opening his eyes, he met the worried gaze of the vampire who bent down the small distance in their height so their faces were at level with one another. Frank slowly looked around and he didn't recognize where they stood. Once again, they stood in a hall, but the stone was different - heavier, lighter, dimmed and cobweb coated twitching lights lining the walls to flush out the pitch black. The ground was coated in dirt and dust and the imprint of the bottom of Frank's shoes showed up when he took a step back. At the end of the wall was a dead end, cold stone Frank was sick of seeing.

"Where are we?" Frank asked, his voice small and shaky.

"Somewhere safe." The vampire took Frank's arm, tugging him towards the dead end.

Frank's eyebrows furrowed and his footsteps stuttered from the unsureness overcoming him. "What are you doing? That's a dead end."

The vampire said nothing. He stopped in front of the wall dusted in dirt and he pressed his fingers against the uneven suface, moving them around until his fingers curiously dipped into something implanted into the wall - a button, being pushed into the seemingly solid surface and causing the entire wall to rumble with a sound going far beyond what it showed at first glance. Frank stumbled backwards, stunned into silence as the wall began to slide open slowly in a shower of dust and crumbles of tiny pebbles, revealing what seemed to be a darkened elevator made of the same darkened stone making the entirety of the mansion.

"If you trust me, come with me." The vampire held his hand out to the weary human inspecting every inch of the mysterious yet astounding elevator hidden behind the wall, not quite being able to take in everything at once when he heard everything falling apart through the ceiling above their heads. The groaning of the rusted metal, the stone as it made an impact on the ground upon falling and breaking into pieces.

Frank weighed the proposal the vampire made involving trust, contemplating whether or not he could continue to place faith into him. After being nearly killed and rescued by him in one night, confusion ties his insides into knots. He didn't think he had much a choice in fully answering the vampire when everything obliterated around them. Frank shakily took the vampire's icy hand and allowed himself to be pulled into the elevator, unknowing of what would come as the aftermath of creating such a chaotic mess.


	5. 5. Disaster Awaits

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Frank wakes up in a place he doesn't recognize.

Frank didn't remember blacking out. The last thing his memory recalled was a glimpse of elevator doors opening, followed by the sight of ivory flooring, the next moment was engulfed by darkness up until now that his eyes snapped open and his body was suddenly very alert. He gasped to himself when his heart jumped in his chest from the sudden awakening, taking on a quick pace like he's just completed a marathon. He squinted slightly, reaching up to rub the sleep away from his eyes that blurred his vision so all he caught was smudges of different colors blending together. He groaned at the thumping headache immediately dawning over him, throbbing behind his eyeballs and at the very top of his skull. Rubbing them only made white spots appear behind his eyes, so he pulled his hands away and attempted to sit up through the pain.

It was then he realized he was tucked into a bed of some sorts, his body having been curled up into the thick velvet sheets and a comforter that smelled overwhelmingly like sweetness and a hint of rain. The rich burgundy covers were pulled up to his waist and the pillow underneath his head had an indent from where he laid on top of it. Surrounding him was a canopy of filmy wine red material with tiny pearls sewn into the slightly see through fabric, hanging from bars above the bed. Looking around, he could see a thick golden rope hanging from one of the bars at his level, resembling a thick braid of blonde hair. Hesitantly, Frank reached out for it, the golden strands weaved into it glistening as he pulled it down. It felt soft as silk, thought he expected to feel it as rough to the touch. The material surrounding him began to lift, drawing upwards so the rest of the room was no longer concealed.

The walls were deeply colored as the expensive sheets were, but the floors were pure swirled ivory he remembered catching a glimpse of before he fell asleep somehow. The bed he laid on had no underneath support, sitting atop a square of the room a step higher than the rest of the floor. A fire burned on in the chimney against the opposite wall, the smell of burning wood filling the room. Candles loitered the room beside oddly Victorian furniture, leaking candle wax into the trays below them. The lighting was enough to make everything visible in the room, but a tint of darkness still lingered with whatever lighting the burning flames in the room had to offer. Frank looked down at himself, noticing he was still fully clothes, but his shoes laid beside the bed where someone must have taken them off for him.

The part that terrified him was that he had no idea where he was. Everything was unfamiliar, the entirety of his surroundings making him feel like he had surged back into time and he was sitting inside a room built for a person living in the late 1800's. He couldn't recall ever brushing past a place like this and the fact that he was on his lonesome inside of it sent his heart into a sprinting frenzy of panic. Frank breathed shakily, peeling the velvet and silk covers away from himself and sliding out of the bed. He looked around for a door and his eyes finally landed on one across the room, the color blending in with the rest of the walls so it would be unidentifiable if it weren't for the cooper knob protruding from the solid surface. Frank clumsily grabbed his shoes, pulling them onto his feet. He tripped when he approached the step of the raised platform he was on and nearly went tumbling to the ground, but he held his arms out and managed to keep himself from face planting on the hard ground below. He surged towards the door, body breaking out into a cold sweat.

Before his hand wrapped around the doorknob, he was horrified to find it twisting quickly on its own and the door was suddenly swinging open. He stumbled back, letting out a strange, strangled noise of surprise. Frank raised his wide eyes to the person now standing in the doorway, looking thoroughly unamused over the fact that he'd been attempting to get out. The man was tall, staring at him with intimidating almond brown eyes with an odd splash of olive green interrupting the peaceful color in one of his irises. His light brown hair swept across his deathly pale forehead, and Frank hated to admit that he was mildly stunned by the handsomeness of the young man standing before him.

"Oh, the human is awake." His tone was just as uninterested as his facial expression. He placed his hand on his narrow waist, leaning back slightly and turning his head. "Gerard, your mortal play thing is awake!" He called out down the dimly lit hallway, and when he opened his mouth wider to project his voice, Frank could see a pair of fangs glistening behind his lips. Frank gasped quietly, his mind filled with images of his own vampire rushing to rescue him from the house that fell apart around them. He could see his vampirism all coming together now as the almost delicate paleness of his skin resembled that of the vampire he met in the crumbling mansion he was previously standing in with, the same molten eyes glowing as no pair of human eyes could ever be capable of.

While having that vampire in mind, Frank was shocked to see him suddenly appear beside the other vampire quicker than he could blink. His vampire glanced at the man beside him, then at Frank, where his intense gaze lingered and one of his perfect eyebrows lifted.

"Must I remind you he isn't a play thing, Michael?" The vampire sounded exasperated, a musical sweeping of words sounding almost like a soft sigh.

The tall man beside him, Michael, grinned, his mouth full of glistening fangs and a tongue sweeping across one of them in an intimidating motion of hunger. "He smells quite delicious."

The teasing air around the pair vanished in an instant once the words spilled out and Frank wobbled further away from the door, fearing for his throat when the vampire with the light hair leered at him like an animal assessing their meal before lunging for their neck. His vampire, the one who answered to the call of the name Gerard- at last, he had a name- gripped Michael's arm so his gaze tore away from Frank.

"Leave this to me. You will _not_ touch him." Gerard stared at the latter intensely, his jaw clenching as Frank had seen it do before. He looked between the two with worry, expecting them to bare their fangs at one another and snarl like untamed animals. He wasn't sure he was mentally prepared to witness that, he still felt a lingering cloud of faintness fogging up his mind, increasing the pulsing of his headache.

Michael disappeared without a trace of his presence left. Gerard nodded once to himself, taking in a breath and turning to face Frank. Frank wondered if he could smell his confusion and the twinge of fear making his heart race at the fact that a vampire made a note on his scent. He loosely cupped the side of his neck, his pulse racing under his fingers.

"It seems I may have some explaining to do for you." Gerard broke the silence with his smooth voice. Shutting the door slowly behind him, he glanced at Frank through his long eyelashes. Frank looked him over and concluded the vampire looked healthier, a slight tinge of pink coloring the tops of his cheeks and his skin glowed under the light of the fire.

"Yes." Frank spoke for the first time since he woke.

Gerard's eyes glimmered. He walked further into the room, brushing a tendril of his black hair away from his face. "I take it you've just woken up from your fainting spell?"

Frank's eyebrow twitched as yet another wave of confusion upset his eerily static mind. "I don't remember fainting."

Gerard nodded, pursing his lips as concern lightly imbedded itself into his features. "You began to hyperventilate in the elevator. I tried to calm you, but you wouldn't budge, and the next moment, you were on the ground."

Frank couldn't recall that event, either. It made sense if he put the pieces together, however, if he added his pounding headache to the puzzle while shaping it. Also his fear of being trapped in small spaces, it must have become too much on top of everything else. He touched his forehead lightly, blinking.

"Where am I?"

Gerard didn't answer immediately. Gliding across the floor it seemed from how light and graceful his footsteps were, Gerard extended his pale hand, holding it out to Frank. Frank was hesitant to grasp it, suddenly seeing how the vampire's demeanor had changed since they met for the second time back inside the crumbling mansion. His eyes were warmer, more trustworthy than the cold and pointed eyes he met above ground, but they still held the same intensity Frank assumed all vampires had in their gaze. Frank gulped quietly, reminding himself of who this vampire was, and he took the vampire's hand without anymore hesitation tainting his movements. He refrained from gasping at the softness of the flesh his palm pressed against. It was almost identical to the sheets he rested on only briefly in the bed against the wall, and his skin wasn't as deathly cold as he remembered it being. Frank could only assume he fed and the human blood he consumed brought him back into a less . . . undead state.

Gerard led him to the higher up platform the bed was splayed out on, spinning around and gently taking Frank's shoulders to seat him on the bed once more. The mattress was firm enough so it didn't bounce underneath the sudden landing his body made on it, but not firm enough to be uncomfortable. Gerard smiled faintly and turned away to ghost over to a short wooden table with a porcelain jug and two glasses, lifting the jug and pouring what seemed to be water into one of the glasses. Frank watched his every move, the way his elegant hands moved with perfect precision and yet none of his movements seemed practiced or thought out, they were natural. He couldn't quite believe he was watching his vampire, the one he searched for so long, tend to him as the vampire balanced a pain pill in the palm of his hand and glided back to Frank, holding the pill and the water out to him.

"For your head." Gerard whispered.

Frank glanced at him and then the pill before taking the small tablet and popping it into his mouth, chasing it down with a gulp of the fresh water that felt amazing rushing down his throat. He drank until the glass was drained and tiny droplets remained at the bottom. Gerard took his glass and returned it to its spot, opening one of the drawers and pulling out a neatly folded towel cloth. Gently pouring water onto it, Gerard wringed the material so the water dripping into the used glass and he returned to Frank, the cloth held in his hands.

"A cool compress will also help with the pain." Gerard asked for permission with his eyes to lay the wet cloth on Frank's forehead. Taken aback, Frank could only nod stiffly, his eyes wide. Gerard's lips twitched with amusement. The vampire laid the cloth gently on Frank's forehead, his own cool fingers brushing against his warm skin and eliciting a barely noticeable shiver from Frank. Frank replaced Gerard's hand with his own to press the cool material against his face, sighing with relief as the coolness soothed the heat under his skin.

Gerard pulled his hand away, taking a careful step back and rolling his lightly pink tinged lips into his mouth. "I want to apologize for . . . losing control earlier. You see, I haven't fed in seven years and I had grown ravenous."

The mention of seven years captivated Frank much more than the vampire's apology. He looked up at him in mild shock, his lips parting and moving on their own accord.

"The pattern." He blurted out.

Gerard's eyes glimmered before he blinked the surprised shine out of them and turned his head away, sucking in a long breath as unease crossed over his beautiful features. "You've done too much research for your own good, little human."

Frank shied away, averting his gaze when dissatisfaction filled the brittle cracks filling Gerard's oddly composed voice. "My name is Frank."

"Hm." Gerard hummed shortly, eyes quickly scanning his form. He brushed his hair behind his ear. "It appears you've tangled yourself into quite a spill."

Frank looked up him, suddenly remembering when Gerard informed him that death would be the punishment for knowledge. Panic flooded into him as he realized he must have been brought to where he was for his death sentence, the eternal silence being the only solution in their minds.

"I'm going to be killed." Frank shakily whispered. Shoving away the wet cloth, Frank quickly rose to his feet, his frantic gaze flitting towards the door. Shivering violently, he began to move, but he was stopped by a firm hand clamping down on his shoulder and forcing him to stay put. Frank turned his gaze and gawked at the vampire giving him a glare full of warning, pushing away from him, but he stopped and froze in his tracks when a low snarl emitted from Gerard. He fearfully looked up into the glowing eyes of the vampire, the pupils suddenly coming to life inside of them and pulsing wide as red began to replace the warm dark green he would much rather look into. Frank stopped fighting, finding himself shrinking back onto the bed and shaking from the pure fear inserting itself into his blood when he looked those glowing red eyes coming straight from a horror film.

When Frank surrendered, Gerard's eyes warped back to their normal shade and size. The vampire sighed out of frustration, his eyelids falling down over his eyeballs, and he reached up to rub them.

"Running will surely get you murdered, this entire underground is filled with vampires who need to feed." Gerard's voice was uneven. "I'm trying to keep you safe. Once they've all fed, it still isn't worth the risk, they will never turn down a chance to drink."

Frank's blood chilled in his veins and iced over so violently he swore they would fall apart like chipping paint fluttering in the wind. "Please, let me go and I won't tell anyone anything, just let me live-"

"Frank, no one is going to kill you." Gerard cut in sharply. "I know what to tell them and if that doesn't work, then . . ." He trailed off, his eyes opening and drifting to the floor, his gaze seeing through the ivory and focusing on something far into his mind as a pained expression took over.

"Them?" Frank whispered.

Gerard nodded, hardening the structure of his lips. "My coven. Ten other vampires live here underneath the mansion we both stood in, it is a safe living space for us to take residence in whenever we return to New Jersey."

Frank was stunned into silence. His head still ached, throbbing now as his mind was filled with many thoughts all at once. One moment he believed he was going to be killed, the second was a glimmer of hope that somehow, Gerard was going to spare his life. He had not a clue why the latter was so keen on continuously saving him, unless he was an extremely unlucky person and Gerard was a good hearted man underneath the good and bad sides of him colliding so often.

"What the hell is going on?" Frank choked out, his throat tight.

Gerard glanced at him, bending down and retrieving the wet cloth Frank had dropped when he tried to get past Gerard. He squeezed it tightly in his hand, a weak droplet of water slipping out from between the cracks of his fingers. Frank watched it splatter onto the floor, barely hearing the landing over his ragged breathing and pounding heartbeat.

"I have lived with a coven of vampires for two centuries. We rise every seven years to feed, that being our limit before we start to go mad from hunger, and every fourteen years, we return to New Jersey to begin the cycle of going across the world again." Gerard explained, his voice having smoothed out after having a moment to calm himself. "As neatly as possible, we take our prey, some of us bringing back human partners until we decide it is time to either kill or change them."

Frank swallowed harshly, his throat and mouth suddenly filing with unexpected dryness. "Is that why that other vampire just now called me a play thing?"

Gerard winced softly, nodding once. "Michael, my brother, he isn't aware that you are the child I saved fourteen years ago."

Frank looked up at the vampire, slowly losing some of his stiffness now that he was receiving answers. "Do they all know about that?"

Gerard glanced at Frank so quickly that Frank thought he might have imagined it. Gerard reached up to tightly grip his hair, smiling bitterly and showcasing his fangs without realization. He chuckled, dry and broken.

"They think I killed you."

Frank inhaled sharply. Immediately, he was rigid again, fearing what may happen if his presence among the vampires caused them to realize he was the child Gerard saved from the clutches of a true monster those years ago. He was sure he would not be the only one to suffer the consequences, and now he understood why Gerard was so pulled apart.

"They . . ." Frank stuttered out, his brain frantically searching for a proper solution until he could sputter proper words out again. "They can't possibly know I'm the kid. They've never seen me, or been around me, it's impossible."

"I've covered your tracks as smoothly as possible so everything you just said would keep them from knowing I wasn't telling the truth when I," Gerard stopped, exhaling deeply, and tugging his hair once again. "I only told my brother about you at first. He thought me a fool to have let you escape with the memory, but he promised he wouldn't tell our coven leader. But, after years passed, he fancied a human he brought home and kept her around as some sort of pet. When she began to feel affection for me, jealousy blinded him. He blamed me her suicide as she realized I could never feel the same and he told our leader of what I'd done. She demanded for me to return to Jersey, seven years before your next return, and kill the child."

"I chose anyone who I found vulnerable walking the streets. I killed her, unthinkingly mauling her, knowing I couldn't kill you. I remembered your innocence, having not seen something so pure for years. And I . . . I couldn't stop. Knowing I was betraying my coven for something I wasn't strong enough to do. I kept killing, drinking." Gerard sank down onto the step leading up to the bed on the raised platform, deflated and holding his head in between his hands.

Frank remembered the discovery of the body of a young woman washing up on the shore seven years too early, the messy array of bodies scattered over the city that made him wonder if a different vampire was on the loose. Discovering that lone vampire had been Gerard, some of the unease left him. Part of his heart ached for the vampire who tied himself into too much of a terrible mess just for the sake of a child he couldn't watch be killed. Frank stood there, the same child Gerard couldn't bring himself to kill even now, and he felt horribly guilty for unknowingly causing chaos. Nonetheless, he still felt a shred of fear, imagining Gerard pursing a murderous rampage due to his pain, becoming something he couldn't simply brush aside no matter how much he understood the circumstances.

Frank swallowed thickly, fingers pressed into the expensive covers under his hands. "I'm sorry." He whispered. He wasn't sure what to say to such a story, he could only utter the most human thing to say. The guilt living in him wasn't enough to offer his life to Gerard. He might have once been willing to sacrifice it out of gratefulness for having his own life saved by the same vampire in front of him, but after coming too close to death, he realized how wrong it would be to trade a life for one encounter so long ago. He slowly rose from his spot, moving closer so he sank down onto the same step Gerard sat on with a careful distance in between the both of them.

Gerard glanced at Frank through the strands of black hair hanging in his face. Frank met his gaze there, looking in between the locks and at the glowing green eyes hidden behind them, the pupils pulsing so wildly. Gerard softened a bit, letting his lids slip over his eyes, and he sat up with his elbows resting on his knees.

"You remind me so much of someone I knew long ago." Gerard whispered. His voice was the gentle swaying of a weeping willow in the breeze. solemn in the way it danced, filled with grooves of ancient sadness. Frank's stomach flipped, unused to hearing such misery.

"Could that be one of the reasons why you saved me?" Frank asked, biting his lip nervously. He didn't want to upset the vampire, deeply resenting the fear for him that had sprouted in his chest since the first time he attacked him. Frank longed to be released, even if it meant never seeing his vampire again, but a large piece of him was still filled with an unexplainable fondness for the creature he turned out to know so little about.

Gerard didn't get upset over Frank's question. He cracked a thin, quivering smile, tugging a lock of his own hair. "Perhaps."

Frank rubbed his arms, thankful that no outbursts occurred. "What happened to the mansion?"

Gerard's lips twitched and the tiny smile turned into a frown. His head turned towards Frank slightly, but his eyes remained on the fire crackling in the pit across the room. "Completely destroyed. There is no one but myself for blame for its downfall."

Frank remembered the collapsing foundation, the rubble and dust raining down as the wooden and stone fixtures broke apart. One memory surfaced and his lips parted slightly. "You saved me again."

Gerard shifted, rubbing one of his knees. "You would have been crushed."

Frank winced at the thought, having his body smashed by a wooden pillar falling from the ceiling being such a cruel image. He looked at his vampire, watching the way the shadows the fire casted danced across Gerard's pale skin. "Thank you. You've done so much for me and you . . . you don't even know me."

Gerard turned his head to look at him. When their eyes locked, Frank was surprised to see the latter looking into his own pair of eyes like he was familiar with them, having seem them millions of times before. The look quickly melted away when Gerard took in the rest of his face, leaving Frank curious, but weary to ask.

Before any of them said anything more, the door swung open, startling Frank, but not Gerard - the vampire had already stiffened like a person would when they heard someone approaching.

In the doorway stood Michael, the brother of Gerard, peering in on the both of them with a look of expectancy. "Are you done chatting in here?"

Gerard rolled his eyes. "I wouldn't exactly call it a chat, but yes."

Michael leaned against the doorframe, an aura of cocky confidence wrapping around him as his almond colored eyes raked over Frank. Frank took in him discreetly, blushing to find the vampire was wearing incredibly tight red jeans that left little to imagination where they hugged his crotch.

"Lindsey wants to meet the little human." Michael said. "Everyone is finished feeding, some of us have brought home pets. She thought we could all bond over dinner."

Gerard stiffened. He quickly glanced at Frank who shot him a frightened look, panicking at the thought of being surrounded by vampires with their eventual prey at their sides. He would have to play the part of an unfortunate human only temporarily being strung along and the thought alone had his stomach roiling.

"Must we attend this parade of little puppets?" Gerard narrowed his eyes. "Unlike you all, I'm not fucking my companion."

Frank's eyes widened, his face flushing crimson.

"I'm well aware why you're keeping him around." Michael sniffed the air, his tongue poking out to swipe across his bottom lip. "He smells exactly like-"

"Not another word." Gerard's tone was as sharped as an unsheathed dagger. He was up in a flash, glaring at his brother who held his hands up in a disarming yet mocking manner, mocking coming from the smirk twisting his lips. Frank glanced between the two vampires, unsure what to make of the sudden outburst coming from Gerard.

"Come to dinner in twenty minutes. You've always been on a fine line with Lindsey, you don't want to displease her." Mikey pivoted to the right, disappearing without a trace before the door could shut entirely.

Gerard groaned, strutting to the door and locking it tightly. "Unfortunately, he's right. We need to attend that dinner."

Frank scrambled to his feet. "But I'm not actually your prey, I'm- what's going to happen?" He was unashamed to admit he was afraid in that very moment. He wished he could run, never turn back, but he was bound to be caught by one of the roaming vampires underground and he was certain whoever discovered him would not be as kind as Gerard.

"Nothing will happen to you. I told you, there is a good enough reason for them to know why I haven't fed off of you." Gerard assured him.

Frank's expression screwed into one of confusion. "Is this reason something you're keeping from me?"

Gerard's face drained of whatever little color had filled it. He didn't answer Frank's question, infuriatingly so, unlocking the door and opening it a fraction. "I'm going to fetch you some better clothes. Stay put. If you try to run, I can't guarantee your safety."

Frank's very bones chilled at his warning. Gerard nodded, confirming Frank's thoughts, and he left as quickly as his brother did earlier with the door slamming shut behind him. He sank down onto the bed, feeling dizzy from all of the events taking place this evening. Nails digging into his palm, he did one thing he hadn't done in years after losing his faith, something he couldn't imagine himself doing yesterday.

He prayed. 


	6. Meeting the Coven

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Frank is greeted by a group of ravenous vampires.

Frank was given a pinstriped button up dress shirt and a fitted pair of dark jeans to wear for dinner. The jeans weren't nearly as hugging as they appeared on Michael, but they clung to his calves in a way he wasn't quite familiar with when he normally worse loose fitting pants. Gerard fussed with Frank's hair, brushing it until it sponged up before ruffling it all over again and deciding the tangled look of his locks suited him better. Despite the distaste for Frank's sneakers, he concluded that they'd wasted enough time with his hair and needed to head to the dining area before any suspicions rose. Frank was flushed from having hasty hands running through his hair, which he discreetly fixed for himself when the vampire was finished fiddling with his appearance.

Gerard himself had changed into a pair of black leather pants riding low on his hips, a studded belt loosely pulled through the loops sewn onto the waistband, a loose black tank top hanging off his frame with a black denim jacket going over it. Frank didn't quite know where to look when the vampire looked offensively handsome, feeling like his own looks dimmed drastically in comparison. Gerard caught the latter looking a few times, only shy glances sweeping over him, and he informed Frank that Lindsey preferred it if everyone dressed similarly to one another for a sense of unity. Gerard himself found it rather silly, but no one dared to go against her wishes. Frank had a silent liking for the stylish flare bringing attention to the shape of the vampire's body, but he decided he wouldn't waste time ogling him as if he were an ordinary human made for being the subject of men and women's eyes.

Frank was instructed to stay by Gerard's side the entire time. He couldn't think of anywhere else he could be where he'd feel even a bit safe, so he clung to Gerard's side as close as he could without physically touching the vampire. The outside smelled of rose petals, the blooming scent of candle wax penetrating through the sweet scent along with the hint of smoke coming from the dancing flames trapped inside hanging lanterns placed along the gray stone walls of the long, cavernous hallways. The floors were made of ivory, swirls of a tanner color mixing into the light shade, and Frank's sneakers squeaked slightly whenever he took a step on the polished floors. He flushed red, hating that the annoying noise was breaking the silence between himself and Gerard. They passed many doors, some a crack open and others tightly shut. It was eerily silent, the quiet crawling under Frank's skin and causing goosebumps to rise. He felt like he was walking through tunnels from another dimension, no sign of the current world breaking through all of the unfamiliar sights. Frank wondered for a fleeting moment if he was meant to die here behind these cold stone walls harboring ancient secrets inside them. The thought nearly sent him quailing, but he concealed his fear and continued to walk, keeping his eyes on the ground. He couldn't bring himself to continue examining the scenery coming from the depths of old horror films, how similar it all was in contrast to frightening corridors with lurking monstrosities hidden in the corners.

Gerard lead him to an opening to the right of the last hallway they stepped through, marble steps and a chalky stair railing carved so the white stone appeared like thick bodied snakes curving down instead of normal pillars, the detail in their reptilian scales mesmerizing Frank as they paused at the top of the dwindling staircase.

"I need you to remain calm through this dinner." Gerard whispered to him, glancing at the steps and back at Frank. "You may see some things you've never seen before, but I don't want you to be afraid."

Frank's heart accelerated. "What kinds of things?"

Gerard pursed his lips, taking a gentle hold of Frank's shoulder and turning him around so he faced the stairs. "It would be a waste to prepare you for things that may not happen. But please, stay close."

Beckoning him with two fingers, Gerard started down the steps, glancing back at Frank to see if he was following. Frank stumbled forward, his palms sweating as he dug his nails into the meatiest part them. He went back to hiding in Gerard's shadow, hoping it would be enough to conceal him from whatever prying eyes awaited them downstairs.

When they reached the end of the stairs, Frank finally looked up, and gasped as his eyes drank in the vast dining room. A chandelier so similar to the one laying abandoned in the mansion above ground hung from the ceiling, supported by gleaming silver chains, the crystal sparkling brilliantly and casting circular white orbs over the marble flooring and the blood red walls.  The room was extravagant with the wide paintings hanging from the walls, the luminous flames of sticks candles being spread across the room and the rosewood furniture held by the branched arms of candelabrums made out of matte gold, shining dully underneath the fire they held. The mouth of the large fireplace at the far end of the room also spat orange flames, the frame and the shelves above of the pit curving up and holding what seemed to be bottles of wine Frank had never seen before, rose petals spread out over the wood and falling onto the ivory colored flooring below from where they shed from the bouquets settled onto the furnishing.

In the center of the room was a long table filling up a majority of the space, a red velvet table runner smoothed out over the polished wood, and dark wooden legs carved out to match the snakes he'd seen carved into the stone at the staircase. The rug underneath was black with red embroidery threaded into it, elegant swirls and loops going across the fabric until the edges spread out in lace finishings. Frank glanced up, watching in shock as figures darted in and out of the room as ghosts traveling through dimensions would move, blurring into focus momentarily to place platters of food and other dinner preparations onto the table. Frank watched with fascination as these beings faded into the air after leaving behind silverware and wine glasses, moving with their impossibly quick speed and blending in with the other colors in the room.

Frank noticed that, at the head of the table, someone took residence in the seat, filling up a glass with purple colored wine with slow precision. Her feet were propped onto the table, and she was completely uncaring that when she finally kicked one of her legs down, anyone could easily see up her dress. Frank flushed, looking away from the obscene position she took. When she took note of Gerard and himself, she straightened up, dropping her other leg onto the floor and instead swinging them to the side so she could quickly stand with the wine glass still perfectly handled in her pale hand. She smiled widely, and in a blur of white and purple, she appeared in front of the pair. Frank tried not to look so shocked, but his heart stuttered from the suddenness of her movement.

"Gerard, my friend, so lovely for you to bring a guest to join us for dinner," Her voice was lower than the normal high and soft tone Frank was used to hearing from his best friend, but her voice was soothing, smooth in all of her words like a swan gliding across a lake of sparkling water.

Gerard nodded, a ghost of a smile plastering onto his handsome face. "It has been quite a while since I've brought back a human." He glanced at Frank for just a moment, a second between both of them, and Frank knew he was only playing the part of a vampire with prey at his side for the sake of secrecy.

The vampire in front of them, a woman whose beauty brought redness to Frank's cheeks when her intense eyes raked all over his body, could have only been one person when he sensed the boldness of her presence. Lindsey, the infamous coven leader Frank heard about previously. She was taller than him by just a bit, her raven colored hair pinned away from her pale face in tubular curls contained by a silver netting imbedded with pearls. Her lips were as red as blood, her dark eyes framed by thick eyeliner, and her lashes swept across the tops of her cheeks whenever she blinked. A matte black corset wrapped around her body, cinching her waist, the black ribbon laces fell onto the layers of her deep purple skirt open in the front, but training behind her like the gown of a bride.

"I hope you choose to keep him, he's quite handsome." Lindsey purred softly, raising her arm sleeved in spiraling lace sleeves, and holding out her ringed hand for Frank to take. Frank swallowed, pushing down all of his nerves, and raised his own tattooed hand to met hers. She grasped it firmly, but not tightly, long black nails and pale skin making his olive toned flesh look much darker than it truly was.

To his complete and utter shock, Lindsey lifted Frank's hand to her face, pressing his wrist close to her nose, and she took a deep whiff of his scent. Frank gasped, wanting to draw his hand away, and Gerard stiffened beside them.

"Lindsey, he just arrived, please don't make him uncomfortable." Gerard pleaded, trying to keep panic from leaking into his voice. But Frank could hear it, a dull echo in the back of each of his words. Frank gulped, drawing his hand away quickly when Lindsey let go.

The woman's eyes had already snapped open, so dark that Frank feared he would sink into them and forever be lost in the near blackness. The hairs on his arms stood as a result from the hardening of her expression, her bleak eyes turning onto Gerard who was already staring at her. The two watched each other for a moment, Lindsey maintaining her unbreakable expression and Gerard attempting to remain composed and mildly protective as he took a step closer to Frank, his cold fingers brushing over his arm.

Lindsey tore her gaze away from Gerard, focusing on Frank all over again. Her lips parted into a sickeningly sweet smile that showed her set of perfectly white fangs, reaching out to take Frank's hands again and hold them as gently as a cold creature could.

"What is your name?" She asked him.

Frank's cheeks filled with color. He couldn't speak for a moment, his lips closed and opened until his own name rose to his tongue and he managed to spit it out. "Frank."

Lindsey laughed softly, her eyes twinkling. "Your full name, silly."

Frank glanced uncertainly at Gerard, finding that the vampire's expression was blank and his eyes were set on the female stood in front of him.

"Frank Iero." He concluded.

He didn't miss the too quick glance Lindsey shot Gerard, nor did he not pay attention to the way Gerard's jaw tightly clenched as he turned away, slowly making his way over to the table until he gripped one of the chairs and stood there with his back turned.

"Such a lovely name. I hope Gerard wants to share you, would you like that, darling?" Lindsey batted her eyelashes, one of her pale fingers drawing a slow line from the corner of Frank's jaw to the pulse point on his neck, hammering away. His heart jumped into his throat and his instinct was to pull away from her, his eyes widening.

She titled her head back slightly, laughing at his reaction. "Such a sweetheart." She lazily turned on her high heeled boots laced up to her knees, metal buckles shining in the lighting filtering through the room. She ghosted past Gerard, leaning down to whisper something, but her lips so quickly and discreetly that Frank couldn't decipher what she was saying. Gerard growled, low and intimidating, but Lindsey only kissed his cheek and skipped back over to where she'd been sitting when Frank and Gerard entered.

"Lovelies, come out for dinner!" Lindsey called out into the room, lifting her arms into the air as her full lips pulled back into a smile radiating with delight.

Gerard turned and went to retrieve Frank who stood there dumbfounded, leading him to the dinner table to sit beside him just as multiple blurs of color flashed before Frank's eyes. Each streak of color developed into a vampire, all of them standing around the table in all of their pale, beautiful glory. Frank shakily sank down onto the seat Gerard pulled out for him, thankfully a good distance away from the coven leader, and he tried his best to avoid any eye contact with the vampire beckoning for their mates to come out of the shadows.

All of Frank's own kind looked unbelievably calm with their surroundings. Their eyes onced over the room like they'd done so many times before, some even allowing a tiny smile of fondness to fall onto their mouths as they sat down beside their vampires, fixing themselves in their chairs. Frank looked at one of the men seated beside a beautiful female vampire with black hair hanging like a thick curtain to her corset cinched waist. His neck was covered in puncture marks, the skin turning purple and blue from the bruises, and he held no shame when the vampire brushed her fingers over his neck, possessively gazing at him as the others filled the room. Frank's hands shook in his lap, suddenly feeling very cold both on the inside and the outside.

"Are you alright?" Gerard whispered quietly near Frank's ear.

Frank looked up at him with rounded eyes, giving a little shake of his head. The vampire bit his lip, glancing around with a dissatisfied look, and he gently touched Frank's elbow to remind him to be calm. Frank sucked in a deep breath through his nose, shrinking a bit into his chair.

"How was hunting tonight, my loves?" Lindsey spoke up at the end of the table, lifting a goblet of wine to her lips and snapping her fingers. On cue, a flurry of color surged to the corner of the room, settling into the form of three vampires holding instruments in their hands. Classical music filled the room, the soft tones of their strings echoing in the vast space, and the tone matched their aristocratic appearance.

"Divine as usual." Michael, sitting across from Gerard, spoke with an air of satisfaction surrounding him. He turned to the brunette woman sitting beside him, reaching out and cupping her chin. "I found myself a lovely one."

"Well done, my sweet." Lindsey took a long sip, reaching out for one of the platters being passed around to retrieve and small handful of grapes. "I decided not to bring anyone along with me this time, thinking perhaps one of you wouldn't mind sharing with me."

"You know I will always volunteer, Lindsey." One of the female vampires spoke up, a startling lovely woman with a curvy body and long lashes that batted together as she exchanged a heated look with the coven leader. Something about the openly sexual exchange had Frank looking away, feeling like he was invading their moment.

"You've always been my favorite, Chantal." Lindsey giggled, popping a grape into her mouth.

One of the trays of meat was passed along to Frank, and though he didn't eat meat, he was terrified to reject it. Thankfully, one of the humans occupied to seat on his other side, but he did feel the eyes of vampires on him. He slipped a few thin slices of ham onto his plate, cubes of cheese to overpower the taste of the meat. Gerard was pouring red wine into Frank's goblet, passing along the bottle when he refused to have some for himself.

"I suppose you've met Gerard's little human." Michael leered at Frank from across the table much to his shock. He picked up an apple, his fangs sinking into the crimson skin first with a soft pop. Frank shivered and flushed when all eyes turned onto him.

"Do we not have other matters to discuss?" Gerard quickly cut in, not bothering to look up as his elegant fingers wrapped around the stem of his wine goblet. Frank nervously picked apart a slice of ham, letting the streamers of meat fall back onto the porcelain plate.

"I don't see why we shouldn't speak about it while the subject is at matter." Lindsey piped in, smiling over the rim of her cup. "It's been plenty of years since you're brought anyone back, Gerard."

"What made you change your mind?" The vampire, Chantal, inserted her question into the uncomfortable conversation. Frank found himself being watched, every single one of his movements being traced by the eyes of vampires and humans. He lifted his gaze momentarily, meeting Michael's stare. The latter grinned subtly, popping a cube of cheese into his awaiting mouth. Frank tore his eyes away and glanced at Gerard frantically.

Gerard stiffened. "Nothing extreme, if you believe so. Can I not bring someone along with me every now and then? I wasn't meant to stay away for the rest of eternity."

"It seemed like you would." The man sitting furthest away at the table chuckled, causing a hum of agreement to rise from each of the other ten vampires taking residence in the room. His long dark hair was similar to Gerard's, but completely straightened and slick, his eyes rimmed with thick black makeup.

Gerard only glared down at his plate. Frank was unsure if he was allowed to speak, but even if he was, he was unsure of what he could say to keep the rest of the vampires from making unwanted comments on Gerard's actions. Frank chewed nervously on a grape, feeling too uneasy to stomach more than that.

"He smells divine. Better keep him close to your chest." The vampire female with the cascading black hair smiled sweetly at Frank, her white teeth digging into her bottom lip in such a hungry manner that Frank had to stop himself from launching from his seat and running far away from her intense gaze. She took the arm of her human lover, tenderly stroking the inside of his wrist to his curiosity, and in such a shocking turn of events, she slit his skin open with one of her pointed fangs so his blood leaked out from the wound. He hissed in pain, but didn't protest, allowing her to hold his wrist over her goblet until the blood dripped inside in a steady stream that would soon fill the cup.

Frank's fingers dug into his thighs, fear racing through his veins when he was suddenly surrounded by vampires with glowing eyes watching the human share his blood with his vampire, the smell of it having to had reached their noses and fueled their thirst. Gerard, on the other hand, growled softly, turning away from the sight and curling his fingers into the side of his chair in an act of self restraint. Frank was horrified to see none of the humans or vampires were bothered by the action taking place at the dinner table. All of them seemed starving for it, and Lindsey, she seemed much too pleased with herself for it to be normal. Her laughter filled the room like the bells of Nortre Dam, leaning across the table to touch the lips of Chantal's mate as the other female inhaled the scent of his neck.

Soon enough, everyone was reaching for their human mate, biting into some part of them and indulging in their blood as if they hadn't hunted at all tonight. The sounds, the quiet moans and the heavy breaths surrounding Frank filled him with a deep feeling of dread, all of the color draining from his face as he watched vampires feed for the first time. The humans seemed to enjoy the pain, being bled out into the mouths of vampires until they felt the life slowly leaving them and they began to panic, their bodies swaying and their eyes snapping wide open. Registering their fear, feeling it crawling underneath his own skin as his heart jumped with alarm, Frank couldn't take it any longer.

He shoved out of his chair, stumbling backwards until he tripped over one of the chair legs and went falling backwards. To his surprise, instead of landing painfully on the marble floors and possibly damaging the back of his head, he was suddenly wrapped up in a pair of solid arms keeping him from making a fool out of himself. Frank gasped sharply, opening his eyes and meeting  a pair of green eyes suddenly glowing until they were taking on a cooper shade where they wanted to turn completely red. Frank shook violently, the world around him blurring in an array of smudged color until everything stopped whirling at an impossible pace and he was being dropped back onto the ground.

Frank fell back onto the familiar softness of a bed, the thickness of the comforter and sheets he had covering him not too long ago. He was dazed, sick to his stomach, his mind filled with whirling images of people slowly dying in the arms of vampires. He scrambled back onto the center of the bed, his gaze frantically flying across the room in search of Gerard. He found the vampire pacing the room, tugging locks of his hair until he finally stopped and whirled around, flitting over to Frank and kneeling on the edge of the bed.

"I need you to stay in here." Gerard ordered, his voice gravelly and full of aggravation. "I'm going back out there to speak with Lindsey."

"What are you going to say?" Frank could sense his face was pale. He lifted his hands in front of his line of vision, watching them tremble violently.

"They know why I've kept you. I must discuss it with her." Gerard stood up, stalking towards the door, but Frank was crawling off the bed, meaning to stop him.

"If you tell them I'm the child, we'll both be killed!" He called after him.

Gerard turned back to look at Frank, his eyes shockingly filled with a heavy abundance of pain, and Frank's breath caught at the intensity of it swimming in Gerard's irises.

"These are matters we must take privately, I can assure you that no punishment will be given. It isn't what you think." With the door swinging shut behind him, Gerard darted away, vanishing completely out of sight and leaving Frank on the bed in a state of shock. If he listened closely, he could hear the shrill screams of a woman coming from downstairs, piercing through the air with a fear of a person who was being murdered. Frank's stomach roiled horribly, the urge to vomit becoming stronger by the second. Frank sank down onto his side shakily, clutching his stomach and willing for the feeling to go away. After moments of sitting and taking deep breaths to calm himself, the sensation passed and he was able to sit up again. He licked his chapped lips, trying to push the memory of vampires feasting out of his mind.

"Human," A voice from the doorway suddenly filled the room. Frank jumped, crawling to the head of the bed and looking towards the door with large eyes. It was Michael, leaning against the doorframe and peering inside with raised eyebrows.

"Jesus, you scared me." Frank's fear didn't lessen to much when he realized who it was, he could only hope the brother of Gerard would respect the latter's wishes to keep Frank as safe as possible.

"That was quite a show you put on out there." Michael swayed into the room, stopping in the center of it and placing his hands on his narrow hips. His frame was thin, lanky, but he wasn't quite scrawny either.

Frank gulped. "I didn't think anyone would notice I was gone. You were all . . . _occupied._ " If there was a correct word for it.

Michael cracked a smile, his fangs poking out from behind his lips. "The most satisfying dinner possible for a vampire."

Frank felt chills rushing down his spine, imagining Michael's teeth sinking into the neck of  a faceless human being trapped in his embrace. Sliding so easily through skin that it could have been as soft as a fragile fruit in their hands. The vampire noticed Frank's unease, smirking with a twinkle in his eye.

"It seems Lindsey will have a spill when Gerard meets her downstairs. We all know why Gerard chose you, little one." Michael's eyes dragged down the expanse of Frank's body, taking in every single one of his features until his gaze felt like spiders crawling over his skin. Cold fear sprouted in Frank's chest, his heart palpitating.

" _Please_ , don't let her hurt him," Frank slid off the bed, rising shakily to his feet. "I know him so little, but I know he's a good man. And I know he was supposed to kill me those years ago as an order, but he didn't go through with it due to pure intentions-"

Suddenly, Frank's teary rambling was cut off by a tight grip wrapping around his upper arm. He gasped jaggedly, his eyes widening and staring up to meet the blazing gaze of Michael.

"You're the child he was instructed to kill?" Michael hissed through clenched teeth.

Frank's blood chilled. Frozen, unkind dread began pumping through him instead, leaving him stuck to his spot and unknowing of what he could say to undo the mess he just brought upon himself and the vampire who saved him too many times for the favor to ever be properly returned. He gaped up Michael, his throat tightening until it closed up completely and he thought he might choke on air.

Harshly, Michael began tugging Frank towards the door, his fingers digging in until Frank bit the inside of his cheek at the bruising pain. He struggled to keep up with Michael, knowing that if he tried to run away, he would be killed on the spot without a second thought crossing the vampire's mind.

"What are you doing?" Frank could hear the alarm seeping into his voice.

"To Lindsey and my idiot brother." Michael only glanced him before gripping Frank and tugging him close, much to Frank's terror and distaste. "Your death sentence is long overdue."

And they were out of the hallway, flashing towards the place where the other vampires stood, and numbness spread over Frank's body as he finally began to accept his fate.


	7. Eyes of a Serpent

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lindsey doesn't take to Michael's unexpected delivery of news very kindly.

Frank was on the verge of breakdown when he was taken into a throne room of some sorts, surrounded by the alive and breathing walls doused in red too violent and smooth to have been anything but the mixture of blood and paint. The ivory throne at the end of a long row of velvet carpet seemed as baleful as a venomous snake baring its pointed teeth at him, the carvings and the way he imagined the owner of the throne splayed out on the seat just as unkind as a snake would have been once it was ultimately intimidated. As beautiful as she may have been, she stood upon the throne, the finest of fabrics draped over her slender body as her pearl like skin glistened under the fires surrounding the area. Almost as if the flames were a trap, ensnaring Frank and his vampire as they both whirled stood in the center of the cage formed by the spidery fingers of Lindsey, the coven leader beckoning Gerard with the grace of a butterfly gliding across the summer air.

"I hate to barge in on such short notice, Lindsey, but it appears I have some astounding news regarding this little human Gerard decided to bring into our home." Michael trapped Frank against him, his body resembling the cold marble creating the hidden masterpiece of the coven below the ground where it pressed against Frank. One of his hands locked around Frank's throat to keep him pinned in place, a bony white finger slithered over the hammering pulse point under the thin skin of his neck. Frank's fear was equivalent to that of when his throat had been much too close to being ripped out, only this time, his terror reached out to the fate of his own vampire who whirled around and take in the scene taking place in the throne room, flabbergasted to see Mikey holding Frank in a position where the cat had captured the mouse.

"Michael, you are such a dear to me, but I have long since known the reason why Frank is staying with us." Lindsey's voice touched each of the words so they flowed like clear water floating along in a peaceful stream. She slowly stepped down from the steps leading up to the platform of  her elegant throne, standing behind Gerard and brushing the back of her hand along Gerard's arm in a movement so tender that the vampire flinched slightly. He moved away from Lindsey, flitting over to Michael and prying Frank out of his clutches.

Frank gasped as he blinked and suddenly found himself at the other side of the room compared to where Michael had held him captive, now being shoved behind the solid body of Gerard as the vampire adopted a protective stance in front of him.

"Discussions have been made as well as exceptions, Michael. You will not touch him." A flaming arrow would not have compared to the passionate disdain merging into the normal pleasantness of Gerard's voice. Frank, trembling where he unthinkingly grasped Gerard's arm, peered over the vampire's shoulder to see a seething Michael glaring at his brother, while the coven leader seemed mildly unamused by the disruption of her meeting.

"I suppose Lindsey knows all of the reasons as to why you are so keen keep Frank by your side?" Michael spat out, threatening to leak the truth, and despair eradicated any of the hope he might have held inside his heart for the safety of Gerard and himself.

Gerard's posture turned into one of a stone, stiffening every ligament and breathing no more. "There are no other reasons besides the one I have discussed with our leader this evening."

"You are a liar!" Michael bellowed, the strength of a lion's roar living inside the frightening vocalization echoing throughout the entire room. Frank cowarded away, watching in horror as Michael became a streak of color rapidly making his was over in the direction of Gerard. Gerard growled startlingly low in his throat, lunging forward towards the rushing flash headed for his body, and Frank cringed back in preparation for the collision about to take place before his very eyes.

The collision of the two vampires was quickly interrupted by another flash of smudged colors coming in between the both of them, taking the shape of Lindsey as she cried out in pure frustration and pushed the two of them back with enough force to have them skidding across the floor. Frank choked out a startled noise, backing away until his body was pressed against the chilling red wall holding too many secrets for him to doubt that energy thrived inside each of its invisible indents.

The pair of brothers crouched on the ground, halting themselves from hitting the wall, and Frank had never seen such a ferocious look being exchanged between two people. On television, when men got into fights, the tension was thick enough to emit from the screen in heady waves crashing over the audience until every atom in their bodies thrummed with anticipation, teeth digging into their lip as the hostility flashing in the actors' told the people watching that something was about to unfurl, something that required blood to be drawn. None of those staged looks could ever compared to the glares exchanged by trembling vampires exposing their fanged teeth, eyes gleaming menacingly as they would when gazing at prey, only the blood they wished to shed was not the kind they were meant to feast on.

"What in god's name has gotten into you two?" Lindsey hissed, speaking through her clenched and bared teeth. "I will not tolerate you attempting to rip each other's throats out. Tell me what is going on this instant or the both of you will not be seeing anything but your chambers for weeks."

Michael was the first to straighten into a standing position, pointing one of his slender fingers accusingly at Gerard standing still across the room. "Gerard has put our entire coven in danger." His fingers sliced through the air, his arm a blur of movement, and it settled onto Frank who was utterly shaken by everything taking place in the room. "This human is the child Gerard saved those many nights ago, the child you ordered him to kill."

Frank abstained from drinking in the look on Gerard's face, knowing his foolish rambling before had betrayed the both of them, and all thoughts of possible security were set aflame. He felt it, deep in his blood, that all of his cells vibrated in a symphonic rhythm, something deeper than terror beginning to unfold inside his body as the expression on Lindsey's face hardened into pure stone. The way her head moved so slowly, gliding, and her lifeless gaze settled on his face out of all the people standing in the room. He breathed shakily, pressing his palm against the wall behind him and scraping his nails against it in a pathetic attempt to grasp something, pretend it was a piece of his sanity to hold onto before he plummeted into a land where peacefulness could not coexist with the monstrosity of the truth.

"Is this true?" Lindsey's eyes casted down to the ground, her voice eerily calm in the tone she partook in. The delicacy of it would have been enough to fool any unaware human that she was melancholy, analyzing the situation with an emotion similar to disbelief. While knowing about her nature, never knowing what to expect from a woman perfectly capable of masking her rage, Frank didn't mistake the softness of her voice for anything but the velvet covering a pit of fire.

"Lindsey, he- he is not what you think." Gerard spoke up, attempting to sound as placid as possible. His face, as pale as the moon or perhaps even whiter, and the tininess of his pupils, all begged to differ. Frank whimpered under his uneven breaths.

"Is it true or does your brother feed me lies, Gerard?" The woman whirled around. Her skirts were just as elegant as she was in her movements, pooling around her, and her projecting voice filled Frank with endless unease.

Gerard's lips parted, remaining open as his eyes locked with Lindsey's from where he stood. They seldom broke apart from her gaze to look into Frank's eyes, the echoing presence of helplessness glistening in his irises, so deep that Frank's heart tore itself apart as punishment.

"He is." Gerard, voice barely above a whisper, brushed through the air and left behind a trail of mortification. Ghosting over Frank's skin, he became frantic, not wanting any harm to come to the vampire he was learning to care about just as much as himself, a vampire who deserved none of the pain yet to come after showing him nothing but mercy despite putting everything on the fine line between danger and secrecy.

"Please, don't- don't hurt him." Frank spoke, his voice cracking from the neglect he placed upon his vocal chords. He peeled himself away from the wall just as the gaze of three vampires settled on him, two sharp while one gaze begged him not to say anything more. Frank carefully avoided each one, but his eyes planted their focus on Lindsey's face, the porcelain of her unblemished skin.

"You, little one, have no right to speak when you are not spoken to." Lindsey spat with such defiance that Frank fell silent, only for a moment as the shocked shot tingles through the back of his skull, pricking his skin as white hot needles would if they pierced right through his flushed flesh.

"Lindsey, you must understand why I could not do it." Gerard, strained and desperate, stepped forward.

Lindsey whirled around with her hand raised, a sudden strike of black and white soaring through the hair until a harsh sound of impact sounded through the room, bouncing off the walls and drawing a gasp out of Frank. It was seconds later that he realized Lindsey's hand had been source of the sound, roughly landing on the side of Gerard's face and sending his head snapping to the side, reeling from the suddenness of the blow. Frank felt sick seeing Michael smirk from the corner of his eyes, enjoying the punishment his own brother was receiving.

"You think you have any right to speak either?" Lindsey reached out and grabbed a handful of Gerard's hair, roughly yanking his head back to ensure their eyes locked the entire time she spat her venomous words into his face. His eyes were illuminated with fierce hatred, but nothing could conceal the fright filling him as she clutched him tightly.

"You have put this entire coven in danger! Humans cannot bite their tongue and the reason for their demise is their own curiosity, even spreading terrible word about their own kind until one of them is destroyed." She yanked Gerard's hair, emitting a groan from the man. Hysteria was bubbling in Frank's throat. "Not only have you let him live long enough for him to let out word of our existence, but he shares the blood of the one who drove us into the darkness!"

"I couldn't do it. Not again." Gerard spoke through clenched teeth, pained from Lindsey's fingers curling viciously in his black locks.

Lindsey let out a loud, enraged cry, lifting her leg and sharply bringing her knee to the center of Gerard's stomach. The air was drawn out of him, his body folding from the pain, and she used this as an advantage to toss him onto the floor. Frank couldn't take uselessly standing and watching anymore, finally taking action when she lifted her foot in a manner where, if she stomped it, the impact of her heel would make direct contact with Gerard's throat.

"Stop!" Frank cried out loudly. He stumbled forward, already capturing the attention of the coven leader, and he took her distraction as a chance to surge forward and dive onto the ground, shielding Gerard's body and gazing up her wildly with a teary gaze.

Michael darted forward, taking his place beside Lindsey who looked close to shocked as she drank in the sight of Frank taking a protective stance over Gerard. Michael glared in disgust, sneering at the two of them on the ground.

"Whatever is going on here, you know it's for a reason." Frank spoke slowly, choosing all of his words with extreme caution. "I don't know what that reason is, but it was enough to make you understand before. He's only ever tried to protect me."

"As a vampire, our coven comes first, not pathetic humans whose blood is the only thing giving them worth." Michael spoke sharply, almost enough to make Frank flinch if he didn't hold the instinct inside of him.

"He is your brother. Are you really so sick that you find pleasure in watching him be beaten?" Frank couldn't stop himself from saying it, astounded by the amount of hatred living inside of the vampire related to the other on the ground, reeling from the intense blow to his stomach.

Michael's eyes brightened with rage, and he meant to lunge for Frank, but Lindsey's quick hand served as a barrier stopping him from moving any further.

"Michael. This is not your business to partake in. Your presence is no longer needed, _go_." Lindsey, cold and precise, barely spared him a glance.

The vampire looked at her in disbelief for a long moment until the coven leader turned and gave him a look as sharp at the pointed end of a dagger, cutting into Michael until he screwed his mouth into a tight line and vanished from the room, like he had never been there at all.

Frank looked back at Gerard, assessing the ashen face of the vampire and the considerably wide size his eyes adopted as they stared up at Frank like he was a mad man, and perhaps he was, but Frank would accept anything coming his way if it meant he would repay Gerard for saving him from the greedy hands of bleak death.

"Rise, human, you look pathetic." Lindsey rolled her eyes, taking one graceful step back as she placed her hands on her narrow hips.

Frank was quick to obey out of fear of what she may to if he didn't bring himself to stand on his feet quick enough. His knees shook, aching to give out, and he hoped they wouldn't become so weak that he would become a puddle on the ground once more.

"You too, Gerard. Weakling, I swear you are." Lindsey snapped, harshly crooking her fingers in a gesture for Gerard to lift himself.

Gerard did as told, gritting his teeth together and pressing the palm of his hand against his stomach. Frank's breath caught, wondering if the strength of Lindsey's blow had been enough to bruise him. He wasn't entirely sure if vampires could bruise, but it was clear that pain was something they carried with them into immortality.

Lindsey, analyzing the both of them, couldn't have looked more like an immobile masterpiece than she did in that moment. Cold, hard lines, a fearsome expression flashing across her eyes that shined like two dark marbles carved into the smoothness of her face.

"So, Frank Iero," Her speaking Frank's name sounded like a challenge. "Who have you told about us? Knowing your kind, you must have told at least one person about our nature."

Nothing had ever stopped Frank's heart before. Not the incoming terror coming from near death, not the countless dreams he'd had of monster crawling out of the shadows and coming to wrap their clawed fingers around his throat until not a single breath could pass into his lungs. Until now, in that fleeting moment, his heart hadn't skipped so many beats that he thought his heart may have shut down entirely. His mind immediately filled with images of Jamia, the only person who knew and believed in the existence of vampires. His best friend who had done research beside him for years, digging into the forgotten places of the internet to find victims of vampires, reading up on their knowledge and their sudden disappearance happening too often for it to be coincidental.

It was then that Lindsey's lips curled up into a cruel, slow smile, sending Frank's pumping blood into a chilled state that pained each of the veins beneath his flesh.

"And so you did." She mused, swaying her hips as she moved forward and hooked her finger underneath his chin. He flinched, feeling the tip of her sharp nail placing pressure onto his skin until his head titled back, eyes locking with hers while his heart jackhammered in his chest.

"Mercy, Lindsey, he did not think there were rules-" Gerard cut in, frantic and pleading, but Lindsey hissed, the second set of her fangs sliding out from her gums in a blinding flash of white. Frank cringed away.

"Tell me, Frank who are they?" Lindsey snarled, eyes glinting in a matter to draw terror out of the human in front of her. That she did, but not the sake of his own safety. He feared for Jamia's life and that alone caused him to keep his lips shut, his eyes widening as he stumbled back until he collided lightly with Gerard. the vampire grasped his upper arms, steadying him.

Lindsey laughed, full of bitterness so cold that there was no amount of heat in the world holding the ability to thaw out the ice. She ran her finger over one of her fangs, eyes raking over Frank's entire being until her eyes felt like the legs of spiders crawling all over his skin, the most vile feeling he didn't think anyone could possess.

"Very well, then. If he refuses to speak, I shall receive an answer my way." Lindsey tapped her finger against her bottom lip, painfully beautiful in the way she burned with insanity sparkling in the midst of her bottomless irises.

"No." Gerard whispered, begging Lindsey to reconsider. " _No_!" He cried again when she moved, but he was too late to stop her.

Lindsey had her hands planted on both sides of Frank's head, shoving him down onto his knees, and the pain shooting through his thighs when his knees came into sudden contact with the ivory marble floor could not compare to the pain that came next. Her eyes, glowing as red as rubies buried in an ancient artifact, gazed so deeply into Frank's until the feeling of her cruel power took over, attacking every cell rushing through his being. Agony filled him where she touched his head, resembling the feeling of his head being split open by two blindingly hot knives, and no other pain he'd felt could ever compare to the torture he suffered while she grasped him - not when he broke his arm when he was nine, not when he hit his head on the pavement after falling off his bike, it was all child's play in comparison to the deep torment coursing through his brain. He screamed out, clawing at her arms, her hands, but the grip she had on him was much too strong for him to break free of. Her eyes dove into his very soul, pulling apart everything he had stored inside him until it was no longer his own, but hers, and she slowly plucked away at every nerve ending in his brain until he swore he was beginning to black out from the intensity of the pain.

She broke away, but only when Gerard pounced onto her, both of their bodies becoming a flurry of mixing smudges of similar colors as they struggled on the ground, their ferocious noises only slightly breaking through the ringing in Frank's ears. He crumpled onto the ground, feeling wave after wave of lingering agony pulsing inside of his skull. He touched his head, looking at his fingers when they pulled away for any sign of blood, but his fingertips came away empty. He gasped in pain, cringing and attempting to look around and see if Gerard was being harmed. He would never forgive himself even in death of the both of them were slaughtered by a woman crafted by nothing short of pure evil.

"Enough!" Lindsey cried out loudly, shoving Gerard off her of until he slid across the floor, but he quickly stopped himself from skidding over the flooring by planting his hands on the ground so harshly that tiny cracks formed underneath the force of his movement. Frank froze up, still enduring a great deal of pain.

Lindsey stood up, her eyes ablaze and her teeth dripping with blood from where she had scraped her fangs across Gerard's jaw, creating a painfully deep line all the way to his throat. Frank held his head tightly, not being able to drink in everything at once when it felt like his skull had been smashed in by a hammer.

"Her name is Jamia Nestor." Lindsey breathed, making Frank grow cold all over again. She wiped away her own blood from the gash going across her cheek. "She lives here in New Jersey, I caught her image and her scent in your memories, Frank." Turning her cheek towards the darkness at the mouth of the hall, she called out to a vampire by the name of Claude.

He appeared beside her, a vampire with fair blonde hair and the beauty of an angel. Frank tried to scramble up, to stop them, but every bit of energy had been sucked out of him and he could only uselessly cry out in frustration, the sound bringing more pain to his head.

"Find Jamia Nestor, she lives in apartment B of the Wilshire apartment complex in Belleville." Lindsey quickly informed him, breathless as she wiped the blood away from her pale face.

"No, please, _no."_ Frank sobbed, flinching deeply at the echoing of his cries inside his head.

"Find of souvernir to bring to Frank after you've finished her off." Lindsey swiftly turned around, meeting the devilish smirk coming to play on the male vampire's lips, so cruel that his angelic featured twisted into that of an archangel come to earth to bring death to the human race.

Frank clawed at the floor when both vampires disappeared from the room, off to murder his best friend, and all of it was his fault. If he had never involved her, if he had listened to her and stayed home instead of tangling himself up into a world he once believed he knew enough of to be a part of, no harm would come to her and perhaps the two of them could have continued living peacefully. He couldn't handle the thought of cold hands wrapping around her, defenseless Jamia and her muffled screams as fangs sank into the thin flesh of her throat, tearing it out until all of the blood in her body drained into the awaiting mouth of the vampire thirsting for blood. Frank was too weak to stand, to crawl, and he pounded his fists against the floor in pure anger at his own helplessness, sobs tearing through his pained body and making his head throb like it had been struck by the concrete dozens of times.

"Frank." A soft voice came into his ears, and as his eyes followed the sound, he picked up the blurry image of Gerard - a pretty imagine of pale white skin and streaks of blood, hair challenging the night with its darkness. Frank couldn't find it in himself to be relieved to see him, not when grief of what was yet to come was filling him so rapidly that his scrambled brain simply couldn't handle it and spots began filling his vision, the sounds around him muffled as they would be if he'd submerged into the ocean and sank below the surface.

He vaguely collected Gerard scooping him into his arms and cradling him like he was a broken china doll, with careful hands and gentle movements. Frank could only slightly feel the heat of his tears rushing down his face, too spent to continue pushing out loud sobs representing the heartbreak violently holding a place in his body. He shivered intensely in place of it, hanging limply in Gerard's arms, and he only shut his eyes when the movement of the air around him told him that they would soon be out of the reach of Lindsey.


	8. Your Pain Becomes My Own

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Frank realizes there's no escape.

Swept away through swirling motes of dust, twirling through the atmosphere at an inexplicable speed racing before Frank's wide and paralyzed eyes, he could barely push a gasp of air into his lungs. Gliding, nestled into the crook of his vampire's neck, he found no comfort in the chill of the air or even the bookish scent of the creature tucking him under his protective stance. The stale, lingering stench of blood clung to the vampire's clothes and reminded  Frank of the unholy doings such creatures performed for their own selfish will. While this particular vampire had done nothing but attempt to protect Frank from the frozen hands of monsters approaching from the gloom of the shadows, chaotic karma ensued, the assurance of fate being tattered until no good came out of keeping his life to himself. The pain piercing through his skull rang true and triumphant, and it felt as if Lindsey had reached into his brain, picked through the layers of fleshy substances with her sharpened fingernails, and not a single drop of numbing serum had been injected into him beforehand. The sound around him was too violent to his ears despite the so subtle whistle it made to the normal human ear, all of his thoughts swirling through his mind in a scattered pattern until insanity bloomed at the back of it, images whirling together whenever he closed his eyes, and he cried out as he curled up against his vampire's chest.

"Frank, please, try and focus," A distant voice hollowly immersed in the raging storm of the contents in his head. Echoing, slowly becoming clearer, and Frank clung to the words until they suddenly became more clear as he processed them.

" _Ah_ . . ." Frank hissed. He struggled to find words and for a moment panicked, wondering if he'd lost the memory of how to speak. He couldn't break through the haze, the ringing, the heavy feeling of his tongue resting in his mouth behind his lips gone numb.

"Listen to my voice, I need you to listen to me so you can come back." It spoke again, morphing into a he, dissipating in reverse until the familiarity of it sent a sharp pang through Frank. His heart, rapidly beating, gave away a kick, and he finally choked on a gasp.

"There, that's it, _breathe_." Frank's vampire, Gerard, sounded so close to his ear, and as Frank's eyes shot open, he felt the ghosting coldness of breath upon his cheek. The paleness of the light shouldn't have been such a shock to his sore eyes, but the insertion of the rays of the dim candlelight caused his pupils to pulse, the energy sending his head into a dizzying swirl of pain he felt so weakened by.

"Oh god." Frank swallowed thickly, attempting to break through the fog and move himself. As he sat upright, he swayed, gasping softly, and he felt a cool hand splaying out over his chest to gently push him back down against something soft below his body.

"You need time to recover," His vampire whispered into his ear. The soft tendrils of air pushing out from between the vampire's lips brushed against Frank's skin, cool where it met the flushed skin of his cheek, and Frank turned his head to the side as the blood began pulsing through his head.

His lids carried the weight of iron. His eyes were only open slightly, the world around him too blurry for him to take in entirely, and he could hear himself breathing deeply through the roaring of blood in his mind. Through the fog, he could feel a cool hand brushing against his forehead, icy skin an instant relief where it touched the feverish quality of his flesh. Frank turned into it, shivering from the difference in temperature.

"Don't fret, I'm here to protect you." Gerard's words, the silk embedding itself into his voice, resonated within Frank, and suddenly, he was much more aware of the events taking place as he weakly laid against a soft surface and the refreshing touch of the man who'd carried him away from the scene.

Frank forced himself into an upright as a spiral of adrenalizing realization shot itself through each and every part of his body. Struggling to focus his sight, he turned his head to the right, catching the dark outline of the vampire kneeling beside him. He squinted, rubbing his eyes furiously, groaning in frustration.

"Gerard- what are we doing just standing here? We need to stop Lindsey from killing Jamia." Frank's words slurred together and connected like the spun strings holding together the pattern of a spider's web, only he was a trembling fly to the spider edging its way to his crooked wings.

"We can't stop her." Gerard took Frank's shoulder, attempting to sink him down again.

Frank's eyes flew open wide at Gerard's reply. He shoved the vampire's hand away from his shoulder, tearing away the sheets from a familiar bed covering his lower body. "Yes we can, and we will."

"Frank, we cannot stop her. Once she makes a decision, it can't be changed, and we will be slaughtered if we stand in her way." Gerard successfully pushed Frank back with the amount of strength he put into his grip, enough for Frank to be unable to fight back.

He rose his eyes and met Gerard's stern looking, igniting anger into the stream of blood flowing quickly through his veins. "How can you sit here and tell me I'm not allowed to try everything I can to save my best friend from being murdered?"

Gerard's expression hardened into one resembling the immortal look carved into the stone of a statue. "I know she means much to you. But this coven must be protected."

Frank couldn't process the words falling past the vampire's lips. The man, having once been so driven by the need to protect that he'd betrayed his own coven, was now defending it when it came down to the soul of a person he did not know. The part Jamia played in Frank's life meant little to nothing to the vampire, and as Frank stared in disbelief, rage only began to stir into the warmth of his blood.

"How dare you even pretend to care about your coven's safety now after you risked everything for me twice?" Frank spat through clenched teeth. Frank could see the flinch glistening in Gerard's eyes, the fraction of a second passing by where his lids twitched over them as he held back a physical reel from the sharp blow of Frank's words, but nothing changed in his expression as a true reaction.

"The circumstances are entirely different. Circumstances you have yet to understand." Gerard's clipped tone sliced through the defense Frank held back. Frank suppressed himself from trembling at the anger filtering through his entire being, only increasing at the coldness evident in the lines of Gerard's face. How could someone once so heroic become apathetic in the matter of such little time?

"I don't need to understand anything," Frank snapped. "What _you_ need to understand is that my childhood best friend is in danger because of my stupid attempt of finding you! It wasn't worth it, none of this is."

Frank scrambled away from the bed, struggling to get his feet on the ground when the lingering mist of the power of Lindsey disabled his usual ability to move quickly. Gerard was quicker than him in every way possible, and as soon as Frank had lunged away from the mattress, he grabbed him, pushing him back to prevent him from running to the door.

"Let go of me, you bastard!" Frank kicked, thrashed, attempting to pry himself out of the iron grip handling his body. His heart pounded loudly inside his ears and he shoved Gerard away, only to be captured again, spun around at triple the speed than the normal and shoved against the wall opposite to the bed. Frank cried out when his back slammed against the cold surface, momentarily witnessing his vision blurring all around the edges once more. He could feel Gerard reaching for his wrists, but he wriggled his body, forming  a fist with one of his hands and lifting it to roughly collide with the side of the vampire's face.

Gerard hissed, his head snapping to the side, shocked by the blow delivered to him. Frank withdrew his throbbing hand and kicked the vampire away, stumbling as he raced to the door, and the dizziness overtaking him caused him to double over so his forehead slamming against the door. He yelled out, the harsh waves of blinding hot throbbing radiating through his brain from the abuse caused by the coven leader intensifying every bit of his pain. He couldn't find it in him to feel guilt for hurting his vampire when his scathing, uncaring words sunk deep below Frank's flesh and disintegrated most of the faith anchored in his heart.

Frank swung the door open with a great deal of effort and threw himself out of the room trapping him inside the hell he'd tangled himself into. Gasping, he surged down the hallway, unknowing of which direction he was taking, but knowing he wouldn't stop moving his legs until he found his way out of the world of vampires. The lights, whirring past him in a much slower motion than when he glided with a vampire, went in and out of focus as his eyes failed him many times through the pulsating pain rushing inside the swelled lining of his brain. His hand, having connected with the line of Gerard's jaw, throbbed from the thickness of bone impacting with knuckles. Frank weakly held his hand against his chest as he continued down the halls, his footsteps echoing through the space he darted through.

The halls were twisted, vast paths leading in every direction possible. Frank panted, taking on each route with intentions to escape, but fear began trickling into him as he realized he must have been a feeble mouse scampering through a maze of stone and brick. The pounding of his heart in his ear mimicked music flowing through the cold surroundings he witnessed, chasing after one thing he would never obtain, for this was complete foreign land to him. He glanced behind him multiple times and jumped at his own shadow, but Gerard never went after him, possibly knowing Frank would not get far in the tunnels winding through the underground. He continued to run, hoping light would be shed onto him, but he was only met  by the great protest his lungs gave away after inhaling so much of the stale, freezing cold air lingering in the atmosphere, and the numbness spreading inside his chest made his legs falter.

Frank gasped jaggedly, clutching the handle of a wooden torch protruding from the wall and stopping. Everything swayed around him, the walls and the ceiling all coming down onto him to crush him to death, but the deep inside of his mind knew none of it was real. He stared, disoriented, the agony in his mind melting into his bones and burning the muscles he'd used to carry himself this far. He slowly slide down the wall, the rough coldness of the stone wall rubbing against his clothed arm. He plopped onto the floor, bruising his knee as it collided harshly with the hard ground below him. Tears filled his eyes as the hopelessness sank in. He couldn't bear to imagine Jamia being killed. His helpless best friend who had warned him of the consequences of his own curiosity, never imaging that she would be the one placed in harm's way instead of Frank. He would have preferred it to be that way, to have his blood drained by Lindsey if it meant sparing Jamia's life. He should have offered himself, and he certainty would if it hadn't felt like a burning hot knife was splitting his skull open. Frank never intended to put her life in danger. If anything, he expected his own to be placed on a fine line, and through his determined state, he didn't let such a thing affect him when he truly believed his vampire would show mercy. While he did, he'd been dragged into a realm created for other beings, running into walls and passages that made no sense as they crumbled all around him. Gerard wouldn't be so kind anymore, not as he had been once before, and Frank was beginning to think he was just like the rest of the vampires ruling the underground inside his heart.

"I don't want this, I don't want this, I don't want this . . ." Frank chanted, clutching the sides of his head and leaning against the cold wall at his side. The sharp chill penetrated his clothing and stung his skin, a pain lessened by the relentless waves of nauseating throbbing ripping his thoughts apart. Wishing for it all to fade away, Frank could finally give himself time to slow his heart, let the ringing rushing in his ears fade away until he could hear the noise of the cold draft floating through the halls, the flames dancing together atop of their torches like two lovers sharing searing passion. He inhaled the smell of dust and burning wood, catching a whiff of the sweetness of rose petals tangling into the gusts of cold oxygen filing up the eerie hallways Frank was now lost in.

Over the soft sounds coming from his surroundings, Frank's ears picked up a delicate sound coming from the left of the hall he was seated in. Floating over to him, ghosting through the air, the noise was one coming from a person, a breathy sound muffled by the distance between him and itself. He froze up, fingers bunching into the material of the rolled out red carpet on the ground. Again, he heard it, this time shaping into the giggle of a woman.

Frank slowly rose to his feet. His legs, exhausted and shaky from chasing after something he could never have for so long, felt weak when he stood on them, but he inhaled shakily and went to follow the noise, hoping some sort of exit would be found if he followed the sound of the woman. Once more, as he took a few slow steps forward, he could hear another giggle, followed by a sound that was barely in earshot from the subtle nature of it. Frank felt chills rushing over his skin, slithering underneath and wrapping around each of his ribs like the smooth body of a dangerous snake. He started down the vast hall and his steps barely made any noise when he chose them carefully, trembling hands hanging at his sides. He looked back briefly to see if there was any sign of Gerard only to find none. He swallowed thickly, tracking the sound of a strange whimper coming from the same person as it turned towards his direction. His eyebrows twitched in confusion, and as he reached the corner, he peeked to see what laid before him before he went any further.

This hallway was completely dark, in both directions. The pitch of the left was startlingly terrifying, sending a jolt of fear into Frank's gut, and the right was a dead end with one door branched off to the side before the wall cut the hallway short. The only source of light illuminating the short segment of space was coming from inside the room behind the door that was opened halfway, allowing some of the glow to leak out into the darkness filing up the cold area. Frank heard it again, but much clearer -  a moan, spilling from the lips of a woman, and the noise was followed by a gentle hum belonging to a man. The hum, though meant to sound pleasant for the woman he was near, held a note to it that Frank could only describe as inhuman, a low frequency of danger dancing around the lightness of adoration. Frank's eyes widened, and as he gripped the corner he hid behind, he picked up voices coming from the inside.

"What was all the fuss about earlier?" The woman spoke, slightly breathless in her question.

There was a short pause, another soft sound Frank couldn't identify, and then there was a reply that had Frank backing away a step as he recognized the voice.

"A mess my brother created by bringing that human with him," Michael replied, his voice sounding cool and smooth as if none of the events that took place bothered him by any amount. "Quite a fool he is, falling in love with humans and insisting on giving them mercy."

Frank went cold. Quickly, blood that had drained from him rushed back within seconds, rising to his cheeks until his face was taking on a blush as red as the petals on roses, and his mind was unsure of how to take the words Michael had spoken.

"Does your brother love him?" The girl asked, surprise coloring his tone. Frank's stomach dropped greatly, not sure if he was willing to listen to the answer, but his fingers scraped against the stone of the wall and his body froze where it was placed, the iciness of all of his limbs threatening to shatter like glaciers of ice crashing against a mountain of hardened steel.

"I suppose not. I know Gerard, however, and nothing good will come out of him keeping that pathetic boy with him. Lindsey must be orchestrating a suitable punishment for him, and as for Gerard, he will suffer consequences as well." Michael chuckled lowly. Frank's breath caught, nausea sweeping over him once more. He zoned out for a long moment, puzzling over what the vampire could have meant in a panicked fashion, images of blood and Lindsey's glowing eyes appearing over and over in a rapid succession behind his eyes every time he dared to blink. Frank understood nothing. He was being kept in the dark, secrets had been kept from him, but something was telling him he played a much bigger role in them than he thought, and not having a clue as to why was making his head spin through the lingering pain vibrating through it.

He only paid attention once more when he could hear gasping, moaning, followed by the piercing scream stabbing through the silence before it was muffled. Frank stumbled backwards, watching as blood splattered onto the floor outside of the door, and the shadow of a limp body falling onto the wall in front of the doorway had Frank choking back a gasp. He couldn't breathe suddenly, hearing the wet sounds of tearing flesh, seeing the shadow of the body being held by the silhouette of a vampire whose head rested at the woman's neck. Frank pressed his fist against his mouth, staring at the blood spilled onto the ground, and only one thought passed through his mind that scared him the most.

_'Is this how they're going to kill my best friend?'_

Frank continued to walk back, shaking his head in horror, until his back collided with a solid body. Upon impact, his eyes flew open and he whirled around, opening his mouth to jaggedly gasp, but a hand was clamped over his mouth to prevent him from making noise. Frank jolted and looked up in terror, backing away, only stopping when his eyes met the hardened gaze of his vampire staring down at him with disapproval written all over his features shrouded by the shadows. Despite such a look being given to him, it couldn't remain for long. Gerard's eyes softened as he assessed the paleness brought to Frank's face from the horror he'd witnessed only a few spaces in front of him. Gerard peered around the corner, noticing the blood, and his jaw hardened.

"Never run from me again." Gerard whispered, touching Frank's cold cheek with an odd tenderness. The chill harbored inside his eyes disintegrated, and just as Frank thought he was being pulled into an embrace, he was proven wrong as he found himself gliding once again at a pace challenging that of infinity.

Frank opened his eyes again and his surroundings had changed drastically. Seconds ago, he'd stood in a shadowy hall filled with the chilling air of the night, and as he swept his eyes across the room he stood in now, he found himself surrounded by shelves of books and the warmth of a fireplace crackling in the pit on the opposite wall. His feet, planted on the carpeted floor, felt like they were barely there, his entire body humming with a numbness brought to him by shock spilling into the very marrow stowed in his bones. The hands gripping his waist to keep him balanced while he flew with his vampire immediately let go and left alarmingly warm spots in their wake compared to the coolness of the flesh touching the fabric of Frank's shirt stretched tight over his torso.

Frank felt like he could breathe again now that he wasn't in flight. But the breaths came shallow and thin, struggling to enter his lungs, and all he could hear in his head was the bloodcurdling scream of the woman held in Michael's arms, being drained of her life with the sharpened fangs inserted into her skin followed by the ravenous mouth of a vampire showing her pleasure to keep her mind elsewhere. Frank closed his eyes and saw the blood, the image of his best friend being covered in the same crimson liquid as her lifeless body hung from the embrace of a vampire he'd practically sent her way. He clutched the sides of his head, tugging his hair roughly.

"Oh my god, oh fuck, she's going to die," Frank stammered, barely feeling the pain in his scalp as he tugged a few strands of hair out of it. "She's going to die just like that woman did and it's all my fucking fault-"

"Nothing is your fault." Gerard grasped Frank's hands and the cold contrast of his skin made Frank gasp. He pulled Frank's hands away from his head and trapped them at his sides, looking Frank straight in the eye with irises swimming in guilt. "If anything, you should place the blame on me."

Frank was speechless. He gazed up at the vampire with large eyes, eyes now watering around the edges as the brutal nature of reality began to sink in through the cracked layers of rigid ice encasing his physique.

Gerard grasped Frank's hands still, and he let go after glancing down and realizing it. He turned into a wreck of guilt, anger towards his own self making out the lines in his beautiful face. "I've put you in danger since day one. Protecting you, interfering with your life and possibly messing with fate. I should have let you go in the mansion. I should have . . ." He trailed off. Clenching his jaw, he turned away. His cheek was facing Frank, the cheek he'd punched, and he was surprised to see that no mark laid on the porcelain skin. Frank stared at the vampire and didn't absorb the words until the vampire looked at him once more, secretly pleading for him to say something.

Frank wished he could deny his vampire's words. The man who saved his life ought to have earned himself some of Frank's kindness if only by a scarce fraction, but the longer his mind stayed with terrifying images of his best friend being killed, he found his helplessness being pinned onto the fault of Gerard. Nonetheless, he blamed himself as well for interrupting the peace and searching for the vampire stood in front of him, not being as merciful as before, and allowing Frank to let Jamia be hunted when he was perfectly capable of saving her as he did those many years ago, scooping a child away from the hungry eyes of a vampire driven insane by starvation.

"She's probably being killed as we speak," Frank croaked out. He looked at his hands, cold and trembling, and folded them into fists shaking with the force of the unexpected anger rushing into him. "You won't even let me try to save her!"

Frank raised his arm, rapidly bringing it down to strike Gerard again. But the vampire was quicker, sharper, and he grasped Frank's wrist before his hand could make contact with his skin. Frank tried to wretch it free, grunting from the grip on his wrist tightening, but he only found himself slowly sinking to the ground under the pained eyes of his vampire, watching him fall to his knees with his arm placed above him in the hand of the latter.

Frank's abdominal muscles clenched violently from the force of his sob. It shattered his body as it did his soul. Of all the love Frank felt in his life, the most of it had been given to the bright spirit of his best friend who remained at his side no matter how crazy he may have seemed in his search for the one person who haunted his mind while growing up. The thought of her life being put out as if it were nothing but a flame to a candle, Frank couldn't handle it, and the blood would be on his hands for not listening to her before he walked out the door, unknowing that he'd never return to see her sparkling grin again. He heaved out another sob, letting the hot tears building up in his eyes spill over the edges and slide down his face.

"You don't know what it's like," Frank choked out through his tears. "You will never know what it's like to have the person you love the most be taken away from you. You will never know how it feels to have that person be yanked out of your life all because of a stupid choice you made." Frank lifted his tear soaked face, looking up at the pale and shocked face of the vampire, and snatched his arm away. "I left her behind just to see you one more time, and this is what I get for wanting to thank you for saving me?"

Gerard slowly lowered his arm that had been outstretched to wrap his fingers around Frank's wrist. Frank could barely see him through the thick film of tears pouring from his eyes, but a single being would need to be blind to miss the abundance of pain flashing across the vampire's face. Frank said an abundance, for it was not only one type of hurting, and he couldn't believe one person could hold so much pain inside of them. The vampire stared down at Frank weeping on his knees, an eternity passing by them both, until the stone set in the silence broke into pieces.

Gerard sank to his knees as well. Frank tensed, expecting to be taken away once more and locked in another room, but nothing of the sort came to him. His vampire smiled so solemnly, the ancientness of his being rising in his gaze, and the light from the fire glowed onto his pale skin now strikingly white from the brokenness of his heart.

"I do know." Gerard murmured. His voice transported to a time Frank couldn't see for himself. His eyes widened, tears streaking down his face endlessly. Gerard glanced all around Frank's face, brows twitching. Carefully raising a hand, he brought it to Frank's cheek. He expected the touch, but flinched when their skin made contact, too flushed to find the coolness of the vampire's flesh anything but unnatural and piercing. Gerard tentatively wiped away his tears with his thumb, lips pressing into a thin line while memories danced over his glazed irises like ghosts haunting the inside of him.

"What?" Frank's voice cracked lightly. He had no patience to clear his throat. He stared, astounded that the rhetorical question he'd asked was receiving an answer. He thought perhaps Gerard had lost a loved one, or he watched a friend age through time while he stayed in his immortal state.

Gerard stroked Frank's tears away and dropped his hands into his lap when he was finished. He swallowed thickly, the fire of his emotions burning everything inside him so the pain of it made up his whole position, and his head hung low, black hair falling over his face in silky tresses.

"I know how it feels to be the one at fault for the death of the person you love, because I was the one who killed her."


	9. The Past

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gerard sits Frank down and tells him his story.

The sound of the air whispering to Frank was as eerie as the parts of the library shrouded in darkness, appearing to slowly close in if he squinted at it. His shivering frame was draped with a soft quilt to keep the cold out and the warmth from his body in, having been handed to him by Gerard who worried for his wellbeing. His vampire guided him into one of the leather chairs settled in front of the crackling fireplace to thaw him out, perhaps get his bones to unhinge from where he stayed completely stiff and shaken to his very core. All he could see was blood, so much that he could nearly smell the metallic fragrance, and his mind swirled from the words Gerard had spoken to him as a response to his moment of anguish.

"I- I don't understand, you . . . why would you kill someone you love?" Frank whispered, frail and confused as Gerard slowly took a seat in the chair across from him, eyes turning into the fire to gaze into the orange and yellow flames creating a cloud of thick smoke going up into the chute above them. Frank watched him, not the fire, eyes still full of tears from the brokenness of his heart.

"It wasn't by choice. If I had any sort of say in it, she would be here at my side, and I wouldn't feel so detached from the world." Gerard responded. He filtered out the pain from his voice, letting it rest in his eyes which he carefully kept away from Frank's face. Frank wrapped the blanket tightly around him, unsure of whether he should ask another question. He did as such when it became too quiet, wondering if the vampire was ready to share.

"Did Lindsey make you do it?"

Gerard leaned his elbow on the armrest of the chair while drawing in a silent breath. His loosely curled first rose to his lips, fingers brushing against them as he remembered, taking himself back to a time Frank would never once doubt he'd forced himself to shove into the deepest boundaries of his memory.

"It was for the coven, as every death is." Gerard answered, strained and resentful. "And perhaps I should have been stronger. But if I didn't do it by my own hand, I know Lindsey would have torn her apart and I would never get to say goodbye to her." The more she spoke, the more his voice shook, as if real tears coated the lining of his throat. Frank knew he shed bloody tears, droplets of crimson he'd seen up at the mansion.

"Why did . . . why did you have to kill her?" Frank meekly asked. He was afraid that he would become too curious and touch a forbidden spot inside his vampire's heart, unleashing a form of angst he hadn't witnessed in him before. There were many things he didn't know, making the vampire in front of him closer to a stranger than a companion.

"She knew too much. As did the ones who followed, as do you, and death is the only penalty this coven knows unless the vampire desires to change the human."

"Why didn't you change her?" Frank's eyebrows furrowed softly.

Gerard swallowed harshly, dropping his hand away from his face. His face lined with pain, anger igniting in his eyes as powerfully as the fire dancing in the pit a few seldom feet away from them.

"It was my punishment for showing her everything. I was not given the option to keep her with me." Gerard sighed shakily. "She knew not only about me, but about all of us, and I put all of my faith into her as a fool blinded by love and beauty. I never expected her to betray us, but my beloved Charlotte . . . she was much too naïve to have done it out of spite. Unknowing of what would come to her as a consequence."

Frank captured her name in the midst of the information. A lovely name, undoubtedly belonging to a woman possessing great beauty as Gerard had stated. Frank could feel his heart tugging with the ghost of pain coming from Gerard's tone, the cold touch of forgotten loneliness caressing his cheek.

"Tell me." Frank murmured. Not because he wanted to know about Gerard's pain, but the story behind it that lead to vampire to a path of pain as he lingered on the emptiness beside him, the cold spot lacking the woman he loved however long ago.

"It is hardly the time when you are in a similar position." Guilt crossed Gerard's face again, making Frank flinch at the reminder of reality. His heart raced, making his fingertips grip the edges of the quilt clinging to him.

"Take me into a time that isn't now," Frank shut his eyes, curling up in his seat. "Anywhere but here."

The pause in their conversation wasn't very long, but full of uncertainty coming from one half of the duo. Frank wished Gerard would speak sooner to keep him out of his own mind, to stop seeing visions of blood and hearing the echo of the blood-chilling scream he heard in the halls of the underground.

"Mikey and I were changed together." Gerard finally spoke, relieving Frank. The human relaxed a bit, keeping his eyes closed and listening to the vampire's voice mimicking the smoothness of rich rose petals. "It was 1788. We were part of one of the wealthiest families in the country, living in a home large enough to be a castle. We hosted lavish dances, masquerade balls, and our parents often handed us off to other wealthy young women in hopes to marry us off. I was twenty four and Michael was twenty one, it was time for us to find a wife, and so we often courted different women, having fun in our youth by sneaking off with them while our parents had their backs turned. Young men rarely thought of marriage as much as women did, we lived as we pleased whenever we could.

"We were hosting yet another party one night. I remember it being summer, all the woman weren't as layered in multiple fabrics as per usual. Just as grand as the rest, I recall, a night for mingling and enjoyment. We searched for women, chatting with some, until one in particular came in." Gerard bit his bottom lip, seeing the image in his vision, and Frank almost believed he could see it too. "She was different from the rest. She immediately drew the attention of many men, even women, with her mysteriousness. No one knew her or where she was from, and she was the only maiden dressed in a black gown. They called her the black swan, for her paleness and her dark dress, she was dolled up with black curls, pearls, her uniqueness outshined that of the sea of women arriving that entire evening. She fascinated Michael and I, and throughout the entire time, she charmed us, moving from one to another as we danced. Her eyes were strange, as was her fairness, and she was certainly the most beautiful out of all the women in the room."

"Lindsey." Frank knew it, seeing the image of her unfurl behind his closed eyes. He opened them, looking at Gerard. Gerard nodded, fighting a humorless smile.

"She lured the both of us to the furthest part of our grounds, and there, she drained us of our blood. I remembered being terrified more for my brother than for myself, thinking that I had failed to protect him as I had been doing my entire life. She killed him first, and I tried to run for help, but she captured me before I had a chance to notify anyone." Gerard chuckled, pinching the bridge of her nose. "She changed me because she wanted me as her mate, and she changed my brother so I wouldn't live my eternal life without him. She considered it an act of kindness, which I suppose it could have been in some twisted point of view. She cradled me close as I wept when it was all over, but I couldn't be consoled."

"Did she love you?" Frank asked, slightly surprised by the bittersweet tenderness in Lindsey's actions. She craved a mate, she spared Gerard's brother and held him close as he grieved over the loss of his humanity, and it was darkly romantic as Frank balanced this new knowledge.

"She did, for many years, and she imagines she does to this day even thought I'm positive she feels nothing but greed." Gerard pursed his lips, breathing out slowly through his nose. "I turned her away with each advance she made, and she became much more cold-blooded than she'd been before. Lindsey has her own story, but it's far too long of one to fit into mine in one night. In time, I'll tell you about it."

Frank nodded, noting to save it for another evening even if his curiosity was touched.

"We resented her in the beginning for ripping us from our family and taking away our humanity." Gerard said softly, his gaze far away as it settled onto the armrest of the chair he sat in. "We only grew to love our nature when we discovered our abilities. Speed, strength, beauty . . . pleasures." Gerard coughed awkwardly, and Frank almost laughed at the last part. He pressed his lips together, burrowing into his quilt.

"We stole our family's fortune after learning they'd passed away from a disease sweeping over the world." Gerard masked his sadness well. "We waited for decades to be able to surface again as people, until all of the talk of our disappearance faded off completely as we were lost in history. We came out of hiding as the 1800's erupted into a period where art and luxury was all. Once more, we thrived as rich men, bathing ourselves in money and blood, finding ourselves here in New Jersey." He paused, looking at Frank, a forlorn smile tugging at his lips. "The mansion above ground, it was our home many years ago."

Frank's eyes widened, shock turning into a wince as he remembered there must have been nothing left but rubble and broken foundations. "It's destroyed."

"It would have fallen to pieces at some point." Gerard sighed wistfully and submerged into his story once more. "After opening our home to parties and other events, we realized we needed help to clean up the messes for us. We had enough money to have humans work for us, so we allowed them to live in the spare rooms as long as they cleaned and cooked for us. It was far more convenient for everyone. As we began hiring humans, Lindsey was off finding prey, disappearing more and more often. At the time, she was creating more of our kind to keep our race thriving, forming companions to string along just like my brother and I. I never approved, but nothing could stop her, and she enjoyed doing what she did. I suppose creation should be seen as something wonderful, but these vampires learned to fall into her footsteps of blood and coldness, their presence was nearly as unpleasant as hers. Some drifted in time, others stayed."

"In her absence, I felt like I could finally breathe. Her overbearing love and her seduction was much too overwhelming. She fought too brilliantly to gain my affections, but I knew I could never love someone with ice inside their heart. Being apart from her at last allowed me to have some of my own freedom. In doing so, my eyes opened, and they found one of the servants Michael had hired in the library one night." Gerard slowly closed his eyes, his lids gently falling closed and his lashes fanning out below them, tilting his head back slightly as he remembered. "I was summoned by her angelic voice. She was singing softly as she cleaned, not thinking anyone would be able to hear her. And her blood, the magnificent scent, it was the most enchanting blood I'd ever gotten a whiff of. She smelled like sunshine and all the joys of the world had been injected into her veins, but I didn't thirst for it. It was an oddity to me how her blood sang to me almost as if it had a voice of its own. I wished to worship it. Any vampire in her presence may have drained her in an instant, but I could never waste such precious blood and mute a sparrow's song. As I peered in, I saw her back only, in the beginning. She was dressed in the proper skirts as the rest of the servants were, but her hair was rich chocolate brown as free as waves unlike the others who held their hair up. And as she turned around, the sight of her face aligned so perfectly with her voice."

"Angelic?" Frank asked, envisioning the beautiful woman in his mind so vividly. He imagined her as a gentle beauty, more stunning under further observation, thinking her dark hair would accompany honey brown doe eyes and dainty hands.

Gerard smiled, the grin of a man swept away by love, as if he was looking at the woman he loved now. "Angelic she was. The most beautiful woman there ever was, and I had the privilege to gain her love in return of mine. Though she was a servant working for myself and my coven, nothing stopped me from falling so deeply for her. Charlotte was an amazing woman, every single thing about her never failed to amaze me. I loved her, I loved her voice and her scent and every single one of her talents that she hid from everyone else. So often I would sneak into her room at night, or she would come into mine, and every moment in between was full of hours of us talking. Feeling I could trust her with my life, I told her my story, the existence of vampires, and she swore secrecy as she kissed me, accepting my lust for blood as well as our kind living amongst the living. I didn't think anything could ever be as blissful as being in love with her, hoping one day I would be allowed to take her hand and call her my beloved wife. My dear, dear Charlotte.

"Michael never approved of our love. He thought I was an imbecile for sharing everything with her, telling me falling in love with a human was a fool's game when she would grow old, lose her beauty, I could never give her children and I'd be trapped in immortality. I knew one day I would make her into one of my own if I was what she desired. I'd give her eternal life made to spend with me, and at the time, it was the only possible future I imagined for her. It was a grave error of mine, foolish as my brother described, but despite my vampirism, I was still a man madly in love with a woman."

He came to an abrupt end. Frank could see the past clashing with reality as Gerard opened his eyes, looking into the space beside him, and drinking in the absence of the woman he loved with every single part of him. Frank's throat knotted up seeing the pain in his eyes. He'd never been in love, never even witnessed up while growing up with two bickering parents, but he could feel the pain in his chest, the flipping of his stomach, a form of emptiness Gerard carried with him that he imagined was numbing.

"She was young, only seventeen years of age. It was a different time, meaning she was over the age of marriage. Our love was interrupted when her parents took possession of her once more." Gerard's jaw flexed. "She was being married off to another wealthy man, a family friend of theirs. Since they trusted him much more than they would ever trust me, they engaged the two of them and yanked my beloved from our home, taking her far away from me so I would never see her again. It was the first time I'd had my heart shattered, and though she promised to write to me, nothing could ever heal the wound I felt ripping me to shreds as she was given off to a man she did not love. She would become prey to a different kind, a vessel for a child and a house maid as the usual amount of women were, and it angered me to no end thinking that she would live her life with a man she couldn't love. It was unfair, but marriage was rarely out of love in the web of wealth during this time."

"I'm so sorry." Frank whispered. His apology was as sincere as the bitterness he heard in Gerard's voice.

Gerard pursed his lips for a moment, his hand curling into a fist. "I shouldn't have let her leave my side. As the years passed, her letters slowed, until I received nothing at all from her. The last I had heard, she was married and with child, unsure of whether or not she could grow to love her husband. I assumed I'd gotten her answer once she stopped contacting me, and the answer was yes, she could and she _did_ grow to love her husband. The days passed without any of my recollection from how broken my heart was, and it felt as if a piece of me had been ripped out of my body. It was a pitiful and empty existence. I spent every day wishing I was that man. Married to her, seeing her glow as she carried my child, sleeping beside her every night. There was nothing I wouldn't give to be human again in that time. Perhaps, if I wasn't so strange and I'd been able to give her everything, I could have asked for her hand in marriage."

Frank's eyes nearly welled up with tears for Gerard. He swallowed thickly, nodding along as Gerard spoke, his legs folded underneath him. "Did you ever hear from her again?"

Gerard's eyes flashed in the dim lighting. A furious, anguished flickering of light announcing itself in his olive green irises, his hand pressing to his lips once more as he stared into the fire.

"I did," He said, voice strained. "Not through a letter, as you may think. Through Lindsey, one day, as she barged into my room with an anger I'd never seen in her before. She had returned many weeks ago with plenty of our kind trailing behind her, but I paid little attention to it as I did with everything else. She carried a novel in her hand, a novel she shoved into my hands and instructed me to read the cover of. As I did, the world began spinning again as I noticed Charlotte's name inked onto the bottom with her husband's surname replacing her original one, and the book was called 'The Whispers of the Night'. For a moment, I fooled myself that I was proud, proud that she'd taken her talent for writing by storm and professional publishers noticed her for it. It wasn't until I opened the book and read through the pages did I realize that I felt no pride, but betrayal, horror taking place of it as Lindsey seethed only inches away from me."

Frank's heart was racing, catching every note of emotion in Gerard's voice and feeling like he'd lived through the story in the eyes of the vampire. "What did Charlotte do?"

Gerard finally turned to look at Frank. His pupils were pulsing as they always did, but in an erratic rhythm, like the heavy beating of a drum was shaking inside of him. "She wrote about us. Our romance, our kind, our intimate moments in which I'd taken her blood. She exposed our secret, and though the humans who may have read it would think of it as incredible fiction, it was our truth. She betrayed me, broke our promise, and it was then that I truly understood the reason why she drifted away from me. She knew I would feel this way, she knew what she was doing. She harbored no hatred in her heart, it was not done out of spite, but I've learned that humans cannot hold a secret."

Frank fell silent. His entire life, he sifted through so many novels about vampires, watching films and reading comic books, and yet he'd never read the story of Charlotte and Gerard, the whispers of the night they'd exchanged while kisses were pressed to their lips as she was sworn to secrecy. She had betrayed Gerard, possibly thinking that no harm could come from writing about it when no human was aware of the existence of vampires. But the world of vampires worked very differently, and no part of this would be brushed to the side.

"Is that why you . . . ?" Frank couldn't finish his question.

Gerard swallowed, slowly crossing his legs in his seat. He turned his gaze back to the fire and Frank's heart ache as he saw that his vampire burned on the inside as the flames turned the wooden blocks underneath it to ash.

"Lindsey ordered me to find her and end her life. I begged her to let me change her, bring her with us, but she felt no pity for the man who shared our secret and endangered us all. She believed we would be hunted down just as our kind was many years ago, and just like the witches from before our time were burned at the stake. She was right, I realized, and all I could imagine was my brother being killed by humans who saw nothing but a monster. Family or love, I had to choose. Lindsey warned me that if I failed to do it, she would kill Charlotte herself, in the cruelest way imaginable. As disgusting as it sounds in the circumstances, I wanted to protect my love. If she was meant to die, then I would kill her as gently as possible, make her feel like she'd closed her eyes for just a moment and never woken up."

"I dreaded the entire way to her. Her house was just as large of a mansion as mine, no doubt did she live in luxury. On the inside, I could hear the keys of a typewriter being pushed down, the soft sounds coming from a baby. Charlotte's child." Gerard's eyes were becoming an odd shade of red. Not the color of his irises, but the whites of them, a film of the crimson color layering over it each time he blinked. Frank clutched the edge of his seat.

"I went in through her window after assuring she was alone. She was there, her child's crib beside her as she typed. She had fully matured into a woman and she was more stunning than she'd been before, but her blood smelled just as rich, her eyes and her hair the same as I remembered. I startled her, but before she could scream, I silenced her with a kiss to her lips, letting her recognize me. And she kissed back, pulling me to her, as if she'd been desperate for that moment for years. I remember how she wept, how she embraced me. I only felt pain, searing and terrible. Especially as I felt her pregnant stomach pressing against me, carrying another child even as her first born couldn't have been more than a year old."

Frank gasped softly. He hoped Gerard would tell him that he hadn't killed Charlotte while she carried a baby in her womb, but he knew the story from its ending before he heard the entire thing, and a grand knot tied itself in the middle of his throat.

Gerard was shedding tears of blood. Thick, crimson droplets dripped out from the corners of his eyes, streaking over the perfect porcelain skin of his face, leaving stains of red in their wake. "I let her speak, I allowed her to confess undying love and how she felt she couldn't truly breathe every minute we were apart. In my bitter mind, I couldn't accept any of her words, knowing she wouldn't betray me if she'd felt as such. Her lips felt the same as they touched mine for the last time, and I didn't taste a trace of the other man as I thought I would. As I cradled her in my arms in that final moment, I wept for her in return, and let myself announce my love for her once more before I snapped her neck."

Frank flinched. Such a tender visual it was of Gerard embracing and kissing his beloved, giving Frank a bit of an odd feeling in his gut, abruptly ruined by the quick death Gerard gave to her rather than allowing her to suffer a painful one Lindsey would deliver. Frank's insides knotted up and he tried to shut out the image of a dead female body, her stomach slightly protruding from the child resting in her womb.

Gerard stood up quickly, his movements mimicking the pain he felt. He stood in front of the fire with his hands hanging limp at his sides. Frank could see the slight tremble in them, and if he listened close enough, he heard the small gasps Gerard inhaled as he cried over the murder of the woman he loved. Pain pierced through his heart hearing his vampire weep. Though he may have felt bitter resentment moments ago, Frank understood why Gerard wouldn't let him go.

He was giving the protection he couldn't provide in the past.

Frank stood up from his seat. He no longer felt dizzy or shaky, there was only a dull ache in the linings of his brain from whatever magic had pierced through it. He let the quilt slide off of his shoulders and he took it into his hands instead, slowly walking over to Gerard. The latter's face was streaked with blood, which should have been a frightening sight, but Frank only felt sadness for him. He took the blanket and draped it over Gerard's shoulders, gently tucking his long black hair away from under the material. His hair was silk under his touch, and Frank had a strange longing to brush his fingers through it until his vampire was calm.

Gerard continued to watch the fire blaze in front of him. One last tear of crimson rolled down his cheek, dripping all the way to his chin where it beaded with the rest, threatening to fall. Frank, unable to watch it remain there, carefully wiped it away, shivering at the thick warm blood splattering onto his finger.

Gerard looked at Frank then. Once their eyes met, Frank stayed stilled, sifting through the green irises taking in his face to find the pain in them. It remained hidden so often, but it was in plain sight tonight, glistening like murky emeralds forgotten by the stains of time. Frank swore Gerard could see his soul each time he looked into his eyes. It made him feel like he was floating in midair, being sucked in by the gravitational pull only a vampire could have.

"You have her eyes." Gerard smiled sadly. He looked between both of Frank's wide eyes, the honey hazel color speckled with brown and dark green. "Hazel, innocent."

Frank flushed at the last word. He rubbed away the blood lingering on his hand, unsure of how to react to such a statement.

"Did I mention her full name?" Gerard asked, barely being able to raise his voice above a whisper.

Frank slowly shook his head, only recognizing her first name with nothing behind it.

Gerard licked his lips, wiping his face. He sighed shakily, looking away from Frank. "Iero. Her name was Charlotte Ann Iero."

The shock was a chill of ice touching the base of Frank's spine. It traveled upwards, spreading to his veins, and all of his flesh tingled down to his very fingertips. He couldn't gasp, thinking it would be inappropriate, and also because it was lodged in his throat. At first instinct, he thought it could have been a coincidence that he shared the same last name as her. Although, his last name wasn't common, having not met another Iero outside of his family. As his mind opened up past that initial thought, everything taking place here began to make sense. The reason why Gerard saved him so many times, Lindsey saying he shared the blood of the one who endangered them, why the rest of the vampires believed Frank was special.

"Charlotte was," Frank gasped, pulling the words from his chest. "My family?"

Gerard's jaw tightened. Nonetheless, he nodded, shutting his eyes tight. "It's why I can't bring myself to kill you, or to let you go after Jamia. If Lindsey finds you, she will give you the fate she vowed to bring Charlotte, and I can't fail at protecting her again."

The world was swirling again in dizzying colors. He was still on the ground, staying put, but everything started to sink in. Frank was trapped in a maze of crumbling passageways because his blood came from Charlotte, a descendant of the only woman Gerard ever loved. He was being held captive all because Gerard couldn't fail her again, and outrage filled Frank as he realized Gerard was not protecting him out of kindness.

"I'm not Charlotte." Frank snapped, stepping away from the vampire. "Charlotte is dead, Gerard. I'm Frank, Frank Iero, I'm my own person and I'm nothing like her. You can't keep me here just because I'm part of her bloodline, you can't prevent me from going home just because you don't want to let her down again. This isn't a second chance because I was not involved with her until now."

Gerard winced, turning towards Frank pleadingly. "I know you aren't her. I've let it be known to myself that she's gone and nothing can ever bring her back. But if I can keep her family safe, then I will do everything in my ability to do so. Not because I think you are her."

Frank's heart pounded loudly, quickly, and he didn't know what to say or do. Once again, he felt like a prisoner, a helpless human trapped in the grasp of cold hallways and cruel vampires. But, now, looking into Gerard's eyes, he could only see the truth sparkling in them, the determination to keep Frank from meeting the same ending as his loved one did. Frank was not Charlotte Iero, but her blood ran in his veins, and Gerard only wanted to do what he was forbidden from doing in the past.

"I don't care if I die," Frank whispered shakily. "I have nothing else to live for if Jamia is dead."

Gerard shook his head. His expression crumbled, pained to hear Frank say such a thing. "Don't say that. There's so much more to life than you could ever imagine."

Frank strongly disagreed. If he was to spend the rest of his life underground and away from other human beings, he didn't think there was anything left but loneliness, wandering the multiple passages and getting lost time and time again. Gerard was too selfish to set him free, even if it meant he would be killed trying to escape.

"You don't know me. I wasn't in love with Jamia, but I loved her more than I've ever loved anyone. You got to see the person you cared about one last time, why can't I?"

Gerard shed the quilt from his body. He folded it over the armrest of the chair, his crestfallen expression letting Frank know that his attempt of being given the chance to leave had been shot down once again. He deflated, his heart heavy.

"It isn't the same, Frank. I only saw her again because I was the one who was put to the task of killing her. If it hadn't been that way, I would have been locked underground just like you." Gerard said softly. His words sunk in, and as much as Frank struggled with them, he knew it was the truth.

Gerard stepped towards him, gently touching his shoulder. Frank looked up at him, unable to stop the corners of his lips from trembling with grief. Gerard gave him a sympathetic look, running a light hand over his hair.

"You need rest, my human. We must face Lindsey again when you awaken." They turned into the darkness, leaving the warm room behind to become enveloped to the cold again. Frank was becoming numb to it, discovering that the vampire's chilled touch felt warmer than the freezing air around them, and for the first time, he leaned into it as his heart collapsed in his chest.


	10. The Wrath

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Frank and Gerard make a decision that will change everything.

Frank dreamt of things causing his sleeping body to toss and turn in the bed he sought little comfort in. He couldn't call them dreams as much as his mind urged him to beware of a nightmare, falling into the ensnaring patterns as all of them did, and his imagination had been so carelessly vivid to make him conjure up pictures of situations he never wanted to find himself in. Images, swirling colors, playing roles he'd never lived in before to make him the star of the chaos he found himself learning about in a time where distress came to claim every piece of him that remained unharmed during his experience. He couldn't remember a time where his dreams came so vividly, and in dreaming of such things, he lived through a restless night he'd originally hoped would bring him peace.

He dreamed of Gerard. He recognized the soft curve of his jawline followed by the intense eyes pulling him in, the tendrils of unkempt black locks falling towards his shoulders, as handsome as ever. He was dressed in clothing from another century, gliding across the room to take Frank's hand and lead him behind bookcases he did not recognize, the fire blazing in the pit only a few feet away from him serving as the source of light. Gerard's eyes glowed brilliant green, his pale hands grabbing gently at Frank's waist, pressing him against the bookcase as he leaned in so his lips were close to Frank's ear.

"My life, my love, come away with me . . ." His words swirled in a hushed whisper through Frank's mind, dipped in silk and dripping onto Frank's skin to warm the pieces of flesh that Gerard's skin cooled. He allowed his head to be tipped back as lips skimmed over his sensitive skin, the tips of needle like fangs teasing it until Frank was gasping and wrapping himself around Gerard. It was like a form of desperation building the push and pull of their bodies. He feared little the oncoming sting pressing to his neck.

" _Charlotte_." Gerard murmured against his skin, kissing it deeply, fingers tangling into Frank's hair and pulling his head to the side for his neck to be entirely exposed to him. Frank's eyes flew open in a panic, watching the room around them melt away into a scene of a bedroom and dim, yellow light coming from a lamp perched on a desk full of scattered objects much too distracting for him to fully realize that the name Gerard whispered was not his own.

Frank fell back against a bed, melting into it, the fall almost never-ending until his body met the unusually soft sheets covering the mattress. He was filled with heat, terror and arousal, looking down to find Gerard slowly unbuttoning his shirt. The vampire's shirt hung open, exposing his pale and glorious chest, his hair a disheveled array of black falling into his face, his trousers open as he began kissing Frank's skin again. Frank moaned, knowing this was sin and something too good to be true, but he was under a haze of lust and seduction, meeting the green eyes of the vampire sucking his skin, kissing, licking, his moans leaving buzzing sensations all across his flesh. All was sweet, hot and erasing every inch of fright in Frank's body, until the vampire's green eyes were engulfed by a crimson red showcasing his deep hunger, and another pair of fangs slid out from his gums that he could see as he pulled his lips back menacingly from them and lunged for Frank's neck.

Frank awoke with a yell stuck in his throat, cold sweat covering the entirety of his body. As he shot up in the bed, he almost bumped heads with his vampire he hadn't realized was bending over the bed and shaking him gently, attempting to awaken him from his restless sleep and yank him out of his alarming dream which quickly transitioned into a nightmare. Gerard drew back sharply, looking at Frank with wide eyes, and drank in the shaking, terrified state of him.

"Frank, are you alright?" He reached out carefully, fingers barely brushing against Frank's arm. It was enough to make him flinch, unsure of whether or not he was still dreaming. The vampire covered up the faint trace of hurt visible in his expression, standing over Frank and gazing at him silently with worry.

Frank looked over the room, trying to get his teary eyes to absorb every detail in order to decipher what was reality and what was a dream. He recognized the dark shades of the room, the crackling fire, the lack of windows and the silken sheets lifted all the way to his torso. He fisted them in his hands, breathless, and color blossomed under his cheeks as he looked up at Gerard who was on the brink of bursting from concern. Despite the dream classifying as a nightmare, the erotica of it haunted his mind, and all he could see was the lust driven green eyes of Gerard peering up at him through thick lashes while his lips did wonders on Frank's body. His face filled with blood, making his vampire step back as the wonderful scent wafted over to him, and Frank dropped his head in shame.

"Nightmares." He mumbled, sliding his fingers over the comforter and grasping it tightly.

"I should have expected you would be having them while trapped in this . . . hell." Gerard sighed softly. Frank looked up in mild surprise at the distaste dripping from his tone. Gerard perched himself on the corner of the bed, beautiful as ever as his silky black hair framed his pale face turned towards Frank's direction.

"Is it morning already?" Frank asked, swallowing against the dryness in his throat. He rubbed his tongue across the roof of his mouth, realizing how achingly thirsty he was.

Gerard seemed to read his mind. He stood up quickly, striding over to a wooden table with a pitcher full of water sitting on top of it. He filled a goblet with the liquid, making Frank's tongue feel heavy in his mouth. "Yes, morning is here, and unfortunately, the things we've dreaded are to come in just a moment."

Gerard came back to Frank with the goblet of water held out to him. Frank took it with a quiet thank you, parting his lips and tilting the cup slightly to let the water wash over his tongue. He gulped the refreshment, a droplet falling from the corner of his mouth and trailing to his neck, and soon it was drained completely due to his thirst. He placed it in his lap, processing Gerard's words with the weight of the world falling onto his shoulders.

"Lindsey." Frank choked out.

Gerard nodded, lips formed into a thin, pale line. "Your fate must be decided by her. And the news about Jamia will be delivered even if you feel you know what has happened."

There was nothing else that could have possibly happened. The mission was to murder Jamia in cold blood, and Lindsey held no mercy in her heart to give either her or Frank a chance, meaning her body must have been laying in a place where it wouldn't be discovered. Frank felt nauseous, his throat closing up as a following reaction. He didn't care if his fate was going to be decided when the life of someone he loved had been ripped away.

"I don't care what happens to me today." Frank slid out of the bed, looking around for the clothes he'd worn the day before. "Let's face her now. If she kills me, then so be it."

He was stopped from pacing around the room by a gentle hand grasping his wrist. Frank sucked in a breath between his teeth, whirling around to find his vampire standing there with the same expression he wore last night; the face of a man who was burning on the inside.

"I can't let her kill you." Gerard shook his head.

Frank refused to let his heart melt at the pain echoing in the gorgeous eyes of the vampire who hurt more than he would ever admit. "What am I to you, Gerard? A descendant of the woman you loved, yes, and what else? What importance could I possibly hold in your life?"

Gerard closed his fingers tighter around Frank's wrist, but the grip was no where near painful. "A friend. The child I saved. I never want any harm to come to you. Seeing your life taken away from you would be a pain I can't describe."

Frank didn't believe the words he was hearing. Gerard seemed to struggle for them, shutting his eyes and fluttering his eyelashes together as if they couldn't come to his mind soon enough. Frank hated himself for hurting over it, putting two and two together to realize he was Charlotte Iero in Gerard's vision, not Frank Iero.

"Don't say things you don't mean. My soul won't be able to rest if you lie to me now." Frank yanked his hand away and grabbed the clothes he'd folded that laid perched on a chair beside the bed. He unfolded them, going to strip while uncaring that Gerard was still in the room, but his vampire was touching him again. This time, a hand on his shoulder, turning Frank towards him to lock their gazes together once more.

"It seems like a lie to you, but these are things I can't explain to their full extent." Gerard's stare was intense, his throat moving as he swallowed to push more words out of his pale pink lips. "I have the most powerful urge to protect you. Your innocence, your understanding of my kind, I'm gravitated towards it. I know you feel the pull as well."

Frank wasn't sure how to explain it either. For the majority his life, he spent it obsessing over finding Gerard, feeling like his life wouldn't be complete if he never did. When they were near each other, they could see in one another what others couldn't. Frank swallowed hard and suppressed the emotions rising up in his throat. Looking into Gerard's eyes now, something new had sprung forth, something he hadn't touched in his entire time as a living human being, and it scared him too much for him to address it.

"Take me to her." Frank whispered. "There's only so much you can do for me. Thank you, Gerard, for extending my life as long as possible and taking so many risks for me, but it's all gone too far. Hasn't it?"

Gerard didn't answer. Frank believed he didn't posses the ability to as he stood there, frozen, his hand falling away from his shoulder. Frank looked into his pale face, the lock of hair tumbling from behind his ear to hang in his face. His vampire was at a loss of words, now slowly backing away, realizing that Frank was right.

"All I wanted was to keep you safe, my human." Gerard clenched his jaw, turning his back. "I'll be waiting for you outside the door." He was gone in an instant, the door clicking shut and showing no lingering sign of his presence.

Frank was drained of all spirit whenever he wasn't around his vampire. He hated that the man was a piece of him that made a home inside the jigsaw puzzle of his soul, but after that one night so many years ago, vampires and Gerard in specific became a part of his life without requiring him to become one of them. Frank stood in the same spot for a long moment, questioning whether or not this truly hurt Gerard. It looked and sounded like it was so, but Frank stood by his argument; what importance could he have to Gerard other than the fact that he came from the same bloodline as his dead lover? They hadn't truly known each other for long and though Gerard became a solid piece of Frank's life as he grew, Gerard lived for many years before he encountered him, time held little importance to vampires as it did for humans.

Frank got dressed quickly, folding his night clothes and setting them on the bed after placing the covers back into a neat fashion over the soft mattress. He splashed his face with water from the pitcher on the table, rubbing at his eyes, drying his face with his old shirt to rid of the droplets staining his skin. For a man preparing to be met with possible death, he felt oddly calm. He blamed it on the fact that Jamia was gone, leaving him without his insides, and he could feel the air he breathed in swirling around in the shell of himself without a purpose or a source to be met with. His heart, heavy in his chest, gave steady beats to remind himself that he was still alive for now. It would be gone soon, so he counted the amount of times it thudded, never paying attention to it until now.

Gerard was outside as he said he would be. An expressionless sculpture under the dull light of burning torches, skin a porcelain canvas and eyes swiped clean of the hurt swirling through the circular irises in the whites of them. He turned towards Frank robotically, giving him a nod.

"I'm sorry for being so cold." Frank whispered to him. "But I have nothing left. I wish I could be who you want me to be, but life just doesn't work that way."

Gerard finally reacted. His lips parted slightly, the ice melting away from his gaze. He blinked the fog away, grimacing. "I never wished for you to be anyone other than yourself. The only thing I wished was to never have been so weak, and that I had taken you and Jamia some place safe instead of bringing you here where everything that was buried rose to the surface."

Frank, stunned and feeling the whisper of pain in his chest, couldn't muster any words to comfort his vampire. His beautiful vampire, forlorn and carved from the hands of angels. He deserved to have someone to stand by his side to assure him that he wasn't weak, he deserved to have Charlotte with him as his beautiful wife like he planned to make her when she belonged to him. He walked closer, walking through the gap between them, and laid his head on Gerard's shoulder. Frank's limbs moved slow as the vampire stiffened. He rested his cheek on Gerard's shoulder, smelling the scent of books, vanilla and the faint rust of blood. His arms came up to circle around him, embracing him in preparation for a goodbye.

"Thank you." Frank's voice melted away into the air, becoming thin wisps of nothingness. He could only thank his vampire for the good he'd done, forgetting the bad, and hoping an embrace would be something the man could carry with him if Frank was meant to die tonight.

Gerard brushed his fingers along Frank's shoulder, unsure of where to touch him, and settled one of his hands at the middle of his back. As Frank shut his eyes, he felt himself being held close, and they glided down the halls at an unknown speed he didn't peel his lids away from his eyes to see. He wondered if Gerard could feel how quickly his heart is beating, smell how the blood was rushing through his veins at double the speed as everything started to slowly sink in. His forehead was pressed to Gerard's shoulder, hands tightly gripping his vampire, and he tried to keep his breathing steady.

They'd returned to the room where Lindsey sat upon her iron throne, as if she knew the two of them would come to her to give Frank away that very moment. She sat with her  legs crossed, a fitted black dress clinging to her waist and a plunging neckline allowing her to wear her long string of black pearls around her elegant neck. The slit of the dress crawled up her legs obscenely, webbed fishnets wrapped around her curvy legs that remained white as milk as the rest of her skin was. The woman slowly slid out of her chair, spiked heels clicking against the swirled marble floors and her tubular curls resting heavily on her right shoulder. Her presence, though appearing as that of an angel draped in black, made a ball of heavy steel form in the center of Frank's gut. As Gerard let him go, he was filled with resentment, glaring at Lindsey with the force of a million daggers shooting in her direction.

"I've been waiting for you both. Such an annoyance that sleep is required for little humans." Lindsey spoke with great distaste, as if all of the events leading up to this morning had caused her the most unpleasantness.

"Belittling his kind is hardly necessary, Lindsey." Gerard stood close to Frank, his throat tightened as he withheld his emotions.

Lindsey caught onto Frank's disgusted gaze, her wine red lips curling up into a smirk and her hands slid down her curved waist to rest on top of her hips. "Perhaps I'll show you some mercy. I have something for you, young man."

Lindsey snapped her fingers, leaving Frank in a minor state of confusion, until another vampire stepped into the room. His face, framed by a halo of silken hair, was wiped clean of any emotion, a sculpture of an angel making his way to Frank. He held something balled up in his fist, and the object was tossed at Frank like it held little important to him. He recognized the vampire as Claude, the man assigned to bring death to Jamia.

Frank watched the vampire vanish from the room, and as he looked down at the object now in his hands, every living part of him left his body, including the spirit floating dully in the cage made of skin and bone. He unfolded the scrunched up familiar shirt in his hand, smelling the fruity perfume and the scent of Jamia coming off of it so strongly. Horror filled him as he realized it was splattered with blood, crimson staining the once white and blue shirt to confirm that Jamia had been murdered while wearing one of Frank's old shirts she claimed as her own many years ago. He dropped it to the floor, like the blood stained fabric shocked him with the force of a million lightening bolts.

"I told you we would bring back a little surprise! Hopefully that brings peace to your mind, instead of wondering whether or not she's dead. No need to worry, love, her death was as quick as it could be in a scenario where you're getting the blood sucked out of you." Lindsey beamed while Frank fell apart.

Gerard gripped his shoulder tightly, keeping him upright as his knees buckled. Frank couldn't look at the shirt he'd seen on his best friend countless times, the fabric having absorbed her scent and the blood shed from her body while she was being killed. No sadness came, only agony, all of his muscles clenching and holding in the horrified sobs trapped inside him.

" _Breathe_." Gerard whispered to him, trying to calm him down. Frank couldn't, not now and not any time in the future. Gerard bent down and picked up the shirt, grimacing at the blood stains. Frank's stomach turned uneasily and he thought he might vomit as images swirled through his mind, intruding every peaceful thought he may have had of his own death.

"And now, it's time to decide what happens to our darling human here." Lindsey skipped over to one of the painting hanging from the wall, observing the picture of demons pulling a mortal apart with her hands clasped behind her back. "I always give my lovely brethren the option to immortalize their pets or drain them completely. And, in Gerard's case, I assume he won't want to be the one to kill you, dear Frank."

"If he . . . must be killed, then I will do it myself." Gerard spoke, struggling to make himself sound strong. "I don't want him to suffer."

"Who says I would make him suffer if I took that responsibility?" Lindsey glanced stared at him from the corner of her sparkling eyes, unable to keep the smile from creeping onto her porcelain doll face.

The two vampires stared each other down, as if they communicated without requiring words being spoken. Frank shakily took Jamia's shirt from Gerard's stiff hands, hugging it close to his chest to grasp the last piece of her he had left. Never mind the blood, her scent clung to the fabric and reminded him of home.

Lindsey broke the tense silence with a giggle, her hand lifting to delicately cover her mouth. "My sweet Gerard, the vampire with the most humanity left out of all of us. Would you really want to relive killing little Charlotte again by giving Frank the same fate?"

Anguish burned in Gerard's eyes like smoking brush in a forest of dark green. His clenched his jaw tightly, hatred leaking out from every single one of his pores.

"I thought so." Lindsey sighed, turned around with the train of her velvet black dress dragging across the floor. "I won't allow you to change him. He's been nothing but a burden to us all. Gerard, he dies tonight, or I will have no choice but to kill him myself, and your brother will be here to assure that you watch every second of it."

"No, wait." Frank cut in, drawing their attention. "Please, kill me now. I can't wait, that's too much time, I can't let this sink in." He was trembling harshly, balling up Jamia's shirt in his hands and seeing how the blood soaked into every single visible thread on the spots it touched.

"Are you so desperate for death that you're _begging_ for it now?" Lindsey raised her eyebrows, lips turning down in disgust. "You humans have no value for your lives. It's no wonder why so many of you take them away from your own selves." Lindsey stepped closer, holding her head high. "Or perhaps, immortality would be the best punishment for you."

"No," Gerard's voice filled the room. "I will take the job of ending his life, but one thing I will never do is give him the curse of watching everything around him rot while he stays frozen in time."

Lindsey pressed her fingers against her lips thoughtfully, her eyes squinting at the edges. Frank couldn't stand the thought of being forced to live with the burden of this pain for the rest of eternity. He couldn't find any words to say.

"I don't think you've earned it, Gerard." Lindsey concluded. "Knowing you, you would benefit from Frank living an immortal life, possibly make a lover out of him as you did with his ancestor."

The vampire and the human stiffened, eyes meeting in a flash and turning onto Lindsey with mirrored hate burning alive in their hearts. Lindsey laughed at their expressions, twirling one of her black curls around her bone white finger.

"His life ends tonight. Consider this . . . a mercy killing." Lindsey pitied Frank, coming forward and caressing his cheek with a pout set on her lips. Frank flinched away, forcing himself to stop his hand from raising to smack her away.

She giggled, trailing back to her throne causally. "How romantic." She leered at the two of them, smoothly sliding back into her seat of iron, an evil queen watching the world fall apart around her as she benefited from the countless amount of people suffering. Frank wanted to wrap his hands around her neck, force the air out of her lungs, drive a dagger through her heart to force her to feel what he did after his best friend was killed.

His body twitched, lurching towards her, but Gerard caught him in an unbreakable grip and took them away from the room. Frank's blood boiled in his veins with an anger he could hardly imagine belonging to himself. He tore away from Gerard and found himself in the room he stayed in for the mean time again, unsure of how to process every single bit of rage flooding through him.

"How can anyone possibly be so cruel?" Frank spat through clenched teeth.

Gerard wasn't paying attention. He flew across the room, opening and closing drawers, throwing piles of clothing onto the bed and drifting in and out of the room at a speed where Frank could only see smudges of color moving through the paths in front of him. Frank held his head in between his hands, fighting not to punch anything and hurt his hand.

"What are you doing?" Frank tried to calm down, feeling the confusion tickling the back of his mind.

Gerard slowed down, eyes wide and pupils pulsing wildly in his irises. "We're getting you out of here."

Frank watched Gerard shoved the clothes into bags, fumbling with them, and the agitated movements were unlike the usual grace Gerard carried with him. Panic sprung in Frank's chest instantly.

Frank stalked over to where Gerard prepared to streak out of the room again and tightly gripped his arm. His vampire flinched in surprise, staring at him in disbelief.

"No, Gerard, please." Frank begged, wanting to fall to his knees. "Do what Lindsey ordered you to do. Kill me, I can't live with all of this, even if you take me away from this place."

Gerard's eyes flashed, his jaw flexing harshly. "How can you value your life so little? Because of _grief_? You know nothing about the feeling, you've only lost one person in your lifespan."

Frank was shocked by his answer. Gerard yanked his arm away, flitting out of the room and returning with bottles of water. He shoved them into the bags, mumbling nonsense under his breath as he tugged at his own hair.

"You don't know what she meant to me. How the fuck can you say something like that?" Frank stood his ground.

Gerard kept his back turned to him, but he was stiff, breathing heavily. He gripped the bedframe tightly, so much that it groaned and began to splinter in his hand. "You humans are the most weak hearted creatures to exist. Weeping over the smallest things, taking your own lives at any time of weakness."

"You were human once." Frank's anger was beginning to direct itself to the vampire whose entire demeanor had changed in a matter of such little time.

"I have lost _everything_ that is of value to me." Gerard slowly whirled around, his eyes flashing a bright red. "My parents rotted on the inside of disease, my humanity was ripped from me because I was a fool infatuated with a pretty woman, the love of my life died under my hands after being taken from me, my own flesh and blooded brother hates me because the woman he called his own was took her own life because of me!"

Frank backed away from the vampire closing in on him in what seemed to be slow motion, his heart pounding in his chest. He registered fear over the great despair he felt, not recognizing the glowing red eyes taking over the warmness of the vampire's stare.

"And you dare give up on your entire life after suffering _one_ loss?" Gerard bellowed. "I've endured the remains of agony after watching everything I loved be yanked away from me, and I never once begged so pitifully for anyone to end my life!"

He pinned Frank against the wall, trapping him between the solid and cold stone and the vibrating, violent body of the vampire making tears rapidly rise to his eyes. The passion of Gerard's pain was searing as it formed into anger, radiating off of him and burning Frank where it brushed against his skin. He whimpered, trembling under the stare of the vampire's red eyes, and realizing that despite wanting to die only moments ago, he was afraid. Afraid of what would become of him.

"Stop." Frank cried meekly, pushing at Gerard's chest.

"You idiotic mortals, thinking you can't fight against pain, you . . ." The crimson red slowly melted away from Gerard's eyes along with the fuel to the fire. He held Frank there, a small and fragile human absorbing the meaning of the words Gerard spewed his way. He was more than right, but his broken heart couldn't handle it all in one bruising blow.

"The blood running through your veins is as precious as the blood that ran through hers." Gerard whispered shakily, fangs protruding from behind his lips, and Frank was melting against the wall. "Charlotte and Jamia's. Your soul is a light, a gift, and you don't have a clue how it feels to witness it being drained from you. You don't realize how precious life is until you see it fading away before your eyes."

Frank couldn't breathe right. Gerard's eyes were rimming red with bloody tears, and seeing them up close made him feel things he never had before. His breath stuttered, pain overcoming his chest.

"You are all I have left to hold on to." Gerard's expression fell apart, a true fallen angel weeping from the loss of his wings. "My human that I swore to protect from the evil in this world. It hurts me just as intensely to see you giving up over a broken heart."

Red tears welled up in his eyes, now slipping down his cheeks, trails of blood which he'd consumed from the victims he took when his coven rose again to feed. Frank felt light headed watching them spill, new emotions drowning out the great need for death carrying him to a place where no rational thoughts existed. Frank could see himself in this position. If Frank could have protected Jamia, taken her away from death destined to come to her, he would have taken her things and brought her to a place where no one could ever find her.

Gerard yearned to do exactly that for Frank.

"My vampire." Frank whimpered, the previous hardening of his heart disappearing and turning into pained warmth. He understood him at last, never wanting his vampire to suffer as he did. Perhaps he _did_ have a purpose, one he never would have imagined having.

"Let me take you away." Gerard moved away from Frank, seeming to float in his movements. "I don't know what will become of us, but I promise to keep you safe. I will guide you through your grief. But, please, never give up on me again."

Frank looked down at all of the clothes packed away. Slowly, he moved towards them, shaky hands touching the duffle bags Gerard prepared for him.

"Where will we go?" Frank asked softly.

"A coven in London." Gerard wiped his bloody tears away. "Two vampires Lindsey created wanted nothing to do with her. They fled to London, turning their remaining family and friends into their own kind to keep themselves from succumbing to emptiness."

"That's across the ocean, Gerard, how will we get there before Lindsey realizes we're gone?" Frank clutched the strap of the bag.

"We run until we reach the airport, I'm too quick for anyone to see us. We will find a plane as quickly as we can, take the next flight to London. The reason I'm rushing is because of our limited time." Gerard reached into his pockets, pulling out multiple dollar bills that amounted to one hundred dollars in each bill. "I have enough more than enough to take us there, to feed and hydrate you as well."

Frank counted over one thousand dollars in the few bills in one of Gerard's hands, not even sparing a glance at the other because he knew it would be enough for the both of them to afford the trip. Frank nodded quickly, scooping up Jamia's shirt that had fallen to the floor. With a swell of sadness, he packed it away, hot tears pricking at his eyes.

"Let's get the fuck out of here. I might kill Lindsey myself if we don't." Frank wiped his eyes, needing to escape the cold stone walls trapping him underground.

Gerard nodded, zipping the bags and slinging one over Frank's shoulder while the other two hung from both of his own. He reached out for Frank, asking for his trust with his eyes that had returned to normal.

Frank walked into his arms, allowing himself to be enveloped. He could have swore he felt the ghostly touch of lips pressing to the top of his head, but he disregarded it, pushing down the unknown feeling he'd felt earlier in the hallway and moments ago to prevent it from adding more stress to himself. They flew down the halls, escaping, and Frank closed his eyes as he confided in the safety of his vampire's arms.


	11. London

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A new ally is introduced.

Frank saw the world differently after being trapped in the dark for days. The light was far too bright, people seemed so much clumsier compared to the graceful strides of vampires, and all beauty was dulled in comparison to the type he'd witnessed while underground. He looked at his vampire, pale and distressed as he weaved Frank through the crowds of people, but still so beautiful that none of the attractive human beings Frank walked by could ever hold a candle to him. He tried to drown out the noise with his own thoughts, feeling nothing but the grip of his vampire guiding him towards their path.

Gerard purchased their tickets and went off with Frank to get him something to hydrate himself with. Getting a bottle of water, Frank gratefully brought the plastic rim to his pale lips, letting the refreshing water slide down his throat to quench his thirst. Gerard bought him a wrapped sandwich to feed the grumbling, tugging hunger making itself known inside Frank. He savored the taste of it, chewing slowly, sitting as close to Gerard as possible while they waited for the flight gate to open.

"What are they like?" Frank asked in a quiet whisper towards the direction of Gerard. His side was pressed against the vampire's and Gerard's hand laid over Frank's knee in a protective stance, hovering more than entirely touching him.

"The coven?" Gerard asked just as quietly, and Frank nodded. Gerard looked at Frank nibbling slowly on his sandwich, trying to make conversation to soothe the spiking of too many negative emotions swarming in his head like a nest of wasps. "I've met them only once. From what I've witnessed, they're kind, peaceful people who don't play the part of monsters as my own coven does."

Frank picked at his sandwich, removing a bit of crust from the corner of it. "How come you've never gone with them instead of living with the vampires here?"

Gerard pursed his lips, slowly removing his hand away from Frank's knee. "I've always had a hope that my brother would melt the ice between us and we could go together."

Frank felt the heartache coming from Gerard's voice. Frank never had a sibling of his own, his parents fell out long before they had a chance to consider having another child. Though he couldn't understand Gerard's pain to its full extent, he knew it must have hurt to have your own flesh and blood turn on you forever.

"He'll come around in the future." Frank tried to be of some reassurance. "If this plan of ours keeps us safe and content, then he'll know where to find you."

Gerard looked at Frank, his eyes glistening, and the robotic voice coming through the intercom of the airport was announcing the boarding of their flight before they had a chance to continue their conversation. A spike of fear jolted into Frank's spine as he stood up and one of his hands reached out for Gerard, mistakenly finding the latter's own hand hanging in between them. They shared a look, but Frank felt no embarrassment. He held on tight to Gerard's pale hand, squeezing it, letting himself be guided once more to the gate as they held their bags close to them.

Frank remembered Gerard explaining to him that the flight to London wouldn't be excruciatingly long as he may have suspected, but Frank was so anxious and exhausted that he could barely hear the words through the muffled noises filling his ears, the noises of the people around him and the voice leaking from the speakers reminding the passengers to buckle their seatbelts. Gerard reached across Frank and did it for him as he realized his head was lulling to the side from tiredness, and no matter how hard Frank fought to stay conscious, the last thing he recalled was a cold hand brushing against his cheek before everything faded completely.

Frank dreamt of strange things again. Inside the warped vision his mind played while he slept, he walked through cold, empty hallways, shivering violently whenever a shadow would flicker across the dark stone, and when his head would snap toward the direction of it, it was no longer gliding over the walls. He walked slowly, assessing the cold and feeling no comfort in the mysterious place where the walls appeared like they would bleed at any given time. The path ahead was pitch black, terrifying, but he couldn't stop himself from walking. After what felt like hours of trying to find a way out of the hallways, he found that he could make a turn to the right when the path changed. Relieved, Frank quickened his pace, rounding the corner and not daring to look behind him when the feeling of being watched gradually crawled under his skin. Frank ran down the hall, but seeing as he lived in a dream, his legs moved as fast as they would if they were submerged in quick sand. He began sinking into the ground and he cried out in fear, trying to keep moving. He shut his eyes, the sensation of falling consuming the gravity of his body, and he only opened them again when it stopped.

Frank found himself in front of an open door. The warm lighting from the inside poured over him, but he didn't turn his head to see what laid behind him in fear of being gripped and pulled into the darkness again. Wide eyed and deeply confused, he looked at the ground, recognizing the porcelain white marble tile smoothly serving at the flooring in the room, his gaze traveling up the platform step where a bed laid at the center. An occupied bed.

He was stunned into silence at the sight before him. It couldn't be possible, he thought, knowing he was himself as he stood in the doorway, going completely unnoticed by the pair moving around on the large bed he once slept in. Frank gaped as he watched himself, scarcely unafraid, in the embrace of his vampire. Frank watched his body writhing underneath the weight of the vampire, and though he should have been alarmed, he froze in place as he heard himself moaning. The sound wasn't a groan of pain nor was it out of weakness, it was of another nature that made Frank's knees quiver, his throat closing, as yet another whimper floated to his ears through heavy breaths being exchanged by the moving bodies on the bed. It was almost a vision of himself being made love to if he wasn't still partially clothed, the same went for Gerard. His own hands weaved into Gerard's hair, pulling his face into his neck, and Frank watched as Gerard's pearl white hands glided down his body, one of them sliding in between Frank's legs to part his thighs, disappearing between them, making the copy of himself cry out softly from whatever went on between their bodies that the real Frank couldn't see.

Frank was hyperventilating, backing away and knowing what would take place here. Some invisible force prevented him from running away, keeping him nailed to the ground, and he screamed out in horror as Gerard let out a growl and ripped his teeth into the other Frank's throat. Before he could see the mess of the massacre taking place before him, the room flipped over in a blink of an eye, leaving him falling backwards into a pit of blackness without an end.

When he awoke, it wasn't with a deep jolt as one would have suspected. His eyes shot open, his body flinching slightly at the sudden awake state of his mind. Frank sucked in a gasp of air, eyes darting above him to take in his surroundings. Instead of finding the back of a seat on an airplane, his mind plummeted into a state of confusion when he was met with a dark ceiling, shadows and orbs of light going across it. It took him a moment to register the material covered seats below him, the hum of a motor and the vibrations rattling through the frame. Frank swallowed thickly, slowly sitting up and feeling a wave of a harsh headache crashing into his skull as strongly as the rolling waves of the ocean. He pressed his palm against his forehead, looking across from him.

"You're awake." Gerard, sitting quietly on the backseat with Frank's legs draped over his lap, observed quietly.

Frank squinted to clear the grogginess away from his vision, seeing the color of a red stoplight flashing over the snow white skin belonging to his vampire. The window was being pelted with rain, the smell of it entering the car along with a cheap air freshener he suspected must have been purchased at a dollar store.

"I slept through the entire ride? How did I get off the plane?" Frank couldn't remember waking at any moment.

"You were only half asleep for a moment, and off into your own world again before I could fetch us a cab." Gerard smiled slightly, gesturing to the vehicle they sat in.

Frank turned his head and noticed the tinted glass closing them off to the driver in the front, only slightly see through, but nearly impossible to catch a glimpse to the other side when it was night. Frank caught a glimpse of his own dim reflection as the glow of the street lamp filtered in, showing how disheveled his hair had gotten and how his lips has puffed slightly from sleeping so long, his cheeks flushed alongside these details. Frank ran a hand through his hair to flatten it, cringing as he carded his fingers through his roots and realized his hair was in dire need of a wash.

"You've been carrying me around this entire time, practically." Frank's cheeks warmed. "I'm sorry."

"I don't mind in the slightest." Gerard smiled softly at him, then turned his head to look out the window as the car started moving again. Frank's eyes traced the outline of his vampire's side profile, the remains of his nightmare an unwanted presence sneaking back into his mind. Looking at Gerard now, he knew his dream was only his fear of vampires manifesting in the form of Gerard. A fanged creature seducing and slaughtering him as many had done to their prey before. Though Gerard owned his own pair of gleaming fangs, he was of a gentler kind, and Frank knew neither of them would wind up in such a position as the one in his nightmare in the first place.

"Are we on our way to them?" Frank asked, moving his legs away from Gerard's lap to sit properly in his seat.

"We are." Gerard nodded and looked at Frank once more. "Our arrival will be nothing short of a surprise, but I know they will welcome us. If Lindsey is the one we wish to escape, their sympathy will be placed in our story."

Frank bit his lip lightly as he tugged his seatbelt, sliding the metal into the thin slot across his body with a soft click. "She must be going mad as we speak. I should have been dead hours ago." Frank's chest filled with a hollow pain at the memory of it all, the loss of his dear best friend and the punishment meant for himself and his vampire. He swallowed against the bitter sting, shoving the sleeves of his sweater over his hands.

"She should have known I'd never allow such a thing." Gerard spoke as he flexed his jaw, moving his gaze down into his lap. Frank noticed he couldn't remain eye contact for longer than necessary, and he suspected that the reason behind it was because Frank shared the eyes of Charlotte Iero. Light hazel, at times appearing a subtle gold when the light shined into them. Frank remembered Jamia being envious of his eye color, poking jokes that they should trade eyeballs so she would have the lovely hazel Frank did.

"I wonder how long it will take before someone realizes Jamia's missing." Frank whispered, his throat suddenly much tighter than it had been just moments ago. He touched his neck, swallowing hard to try and loosen the tension.

"I believe someone will soon, and when the times come to accept her disappearance, they will mourn properly for her." Gerard softened his voice, lowering it at a soothing level that reminded Frank of soft wind chimes fluttering together through the subtle breeze flowing past the metallic instruments of nature. Frank sank into his seat, looking out the window just as they passed a large body of water he'd only ever seen in pictures.

"I left her thinking I'd come back," Frank told his vampire, his voice breaking with emotion. "I told her not to worry, that I'd be back sooner than she imagined and I wouldn't get myself killed trying to find you. All this time, she had a bad feeling about my curiosity, my need to know more. I thought only once that maybe she was right, maybe I would be killed just like the rest of the people who tried to find them. Vampires. But I chose not to believe her because _my_ vampire would never do something so horrible to me."

Gerard exhaled quietly beside Frank. Frank didn't look at him, he continued to watch the rain roll down the window, letting them serve as the tears he couldn't bring himself to shed when he felt emptiness at the thought of losing Jamia.

"I should have let you go." Gerard whispered.

Frank could never fully blame Gerard for the cruel events taking place in mere hours. They were both to blame for everything, one for having too much consequential mercy and another with a curiosity burning so brightly that the fire left him with scalding wounds. Gerard was his flame, vampires were the ring of fire closing in on them.

"I don't want to talk about that." Frank said hoarsely. "We need to think about now, about the future. Lindsey will surely be looking for us and we needed to be prepared if she finds out we're here."

From the corner of his eye, Frank saw Gerard shift. The vampire nodded stiffly in response to Frank's statement.

"As soon as we reach the coven, I'll inform them of everything." Gerard said. "I'm positive they'll have proper quarters for you to stay in. I'll take care of it all while you do what you must to refresh your mind."

"I want to be with you when you do it." Frank refused to sit back and relax while Gerard took each matter into his own hands. "I'm only here for you."

"I know." Gerard said softly.

Frank peeked at him then. Gerard was facing his direction, but his eyes were trained on the unraveling seam on the seat close to the buckle of Frank's seatbelt, long eyelashes falling over the brilliant green irises tinted with specks of brown inside. His messy hair, having been misted over at some point by the rain falling outside, blended in with the night, and the beauty of his porcelain skin and the curve of his top lip overwhelmed Frank. Shivers erupted at the base of his spine, moving upwards, and he trembled the slightest bit at the beauty of the angelic being beside him.

The two of them fell into silence, looking out their windows and watching the distorted view of the capital of England passing by them as the rain slowed into a gradual mist, while Frank was struggling more and more every second to shake the creeping feeling of something more etching into his very own DNA when he looked at Gerard for so long.

-

The rain became a distant memory dissolving into the past when Frank and Gerard reached their destination. The street was desolate and wet with the glistening remains of raindrops, the car parked beside a home that easily could have counted as a mansion in the 1800's from the coned rooftops and the mass of separate sections branching off from the wide center. Frank could see concrete steps leading up to the towering double doors made of the darkest wood possible, giving off an eerie vibe as the dark clouds in the sky had yet to completely vanish.

"Thank you for bringing us here," Gerard spoke to the driver once they were out of the car and collecting their things. He slid out a dollar bill worth fifty dollars, placing it into the driver's hand with a closed lipped smile. "Drive safely on your way home."

"Thank you, sir. Take care of yourselves and be cautious." The driver said in a thick accent, eyeing the enormous home concealed behind black iron gates with curling designs coming in towards the lock at the center. "This family is one of London's most . . . curious additions."

"We share mutual friends and enemies, we are more than sure our welcome will come instantly." Gerard brushed his hand against Frank's shoulder, gesturing for him to come along as he made his way to the tall iron gate dripping with droplets of rain water. Frank glanced back at the driver, walking in Gerard's shadow while the man entered the car once more, giving Frank and the mansion an uneasy glance. Frank looked away, stopping beside his vampire who began undoing the latches of the gate.

"Do you think they have a security system or something? If I were them, I would be afraid of getting robbed or attacked." Frank bit his lip, looking around the area.

"Vampires are intimidating creatures, even if humans aren't aware that we are of another kind." Gerard undid the last latch, causing the iron to groan. "They wouldn't dare come near us."

Frank stepped back as the black iron gates slowly swung open with a deep sound appearing much louder to his ears than it would have to anyone else, giving the pair access to the neat gravel pathway leading to the massive stone steps ahead. Frank gulped, clutching the strap of his bag.

"Stay close." Gerard whispered, his hand brushing against Frank's hair briefly. He lead the way down the gravel path, the substance crunching lightly underneath his steps. Frank's steps sounded much louder, perhaps because of his lack of grace and messy coordination on the lumpy ground he wasn't used to. Gerard could be walking over a trail of uneven and broken ground and he'd still appear like the shadow of an angel floating over the earth, completely unfazed by the change. Frank stood close behind Gerard, looking around at the dewy wet grass and the neatly trimmed bushes with blooming flowers, the statues of macabre scenarios standing tall as they guarded the path. Frank's heart was racing, his hands cold but breaking out in a sweat from the nerves churning in his stomach.

When they reached the steps, Gerard glanced back at Frank quickly to assure he was still there. Frank gave him a small nod, willing him to go first. Gerard quickly trotted up the stairs and Frank followed, attempting to avoid the shallow puddles and the water dripping from the dark ceiling that splattered onto the cold concrete. Frank shivered, uneasily moving towards the door Gerard stopped in front of.

"They won't try to attack me, will they?" Frank whispered.

"No, not if they see you are with me." Gerard reassured him equally as quietly. He looked behind at Frank just as the porch light flickered on and illuminated the deep green and brown of his eyes. Before the two could say anymore, a series of rapid clicks coming from the door came to their attention. They looked towards the entry, watching as it quickly swung open and hit the opposite wall on the inside. No one stood at the threshold to greet them, but the inside was full of light.

The inside was like a church. The tall foundation allowed the stone walls to stretch up high, stained glass imbedded into the walls to portray holy scenarios that contrasted greatly with the terrifying images made of stone sitting outside. The patterned stone tile reached the wide, stony path of stairs branching off into separate hallways, one of the long halls leading to an area where its light leaked out onto the black velvet carpets rolling out over the ivory and pale blue tiles. Moonlight shone in through the windows in pale beams, casting over the stone pillars and the carefully craved layout of the staircase. Frank looked up to see a ceiling of skylight, showing the brilliancy of the night sky and the twinkling stars shining through the thick clouds rolling through the atmosphere as the storm rolled over. The remains of rain looked like tiny crystals imbedded into the glass and the irons beams, trickling delicately like the tears from the lord himself. The outside was made to appear hellish to conceal the heavenly design inside, an admirable quirk Frank was in eternal awe over.

"It's beautiful." Frank breathed, taking in each of the gorgeous details placed into the home owned by the London coven of vampires.

"Thank you, young human." A sudden voice coming from the top of the stairs startled Frank deeply. He yelped, shuffling behind Gerard and looking over his shoulder at where the voice had come from.

A woman, slowly gliding down the stairs, beamed down at the pair below her. Her hair, chocolate brown curls ending just above her waist, flowed like scarves of silk as she moved, pearls gleaming in her locks from the nearly invisible strings trailing down from the crown of flowers nestled at the top of her head. Her dress was pale blue, covering most of her skin, and a film of glittering material seemingly made from beams of moonlights flowed over the cinching material of the gown. She took the both of them in with care, appearing as graceful as an angel despite being one of another kind.

"Please pardon us for stepping inside your home so suddenly, the door opened and we thought someone heard us and decided to let us in." Gerard looked around cautiously, then settled his eyes on the female vampire as she reached the foot of the stairs.

She smiled, the curl of her lips holding all of the soothing qualities in the world. "The door only opens in such a way to those of our own kind." Her eyes ran over Gerard, then flickered over to Frank, lighting up with curiosity. "Although it appears only one of you is like us."

Gerard glanced behind him at Frank and the latter met his eyes, unsure of whether or not he should speak. Gerard did so for him. "I'm Gerard, this is my friend, Frank. He is with me, I would greatly appreciate it if everyone here would treat him with respect."

The woman bowed her head in agreement, sweeping one of her curls behind her shoulder with a gentle touch of her hand. "Of course. Humans are treated well here, hospitality will be granted to your mate."

Frank's cheeks warmed at one select word, finally opening his mouth to correct her. "I'm not his mate."

The vampire looked upon him in surprise, a shocked giggle coming from between her full lips. "Pardon me. The way your vampire protectively shields you lead me to drawing conclusions."

Frank was unsure of how to respond. The blood rushing underneath his cheeks came to the woman's attention, a gleam rippling across her eyes as they roamed all over his face. She stepped forward to stand in front of Gerard, humming softly in thought.

"You've come from Lindsey's coven."

Gerard, though shocked, nodded. "How can you tell?"

She smiled serenely. "I can smell her, running through your veins, lingering on your skin. She is my creator, I can sense Lindsey from miles away." She pursed her lips, angling her body so she faced Gerard and Frank equally. "My name is Mina. I'm not sure if Lindsey has ever brought me to your attention, but she created me and my coven many years ago."

"We are all fully aware of the London coven, I've met some of them once before. Although, it seems you were missing from the clan during the time we crossed paths." Gerard told her, looking back at Frank and brushing his fingers against Frank's arm to encourage him to come closer. Frank swallowed his hesitation and took two steps forward, standing beside his vampire rather than in his shadow. "We came here seeking safety. Lindsey wishes to do much harm to us and one of her evil doings has already deeply wounded my human."

Mina nodded, suddenly losing the charming joy entering her expression and becoming as serious as she could be while willing to listen. "I see. Lindsey was always one for violence, I know this much from my short time with her. What is her motive?"

Gerard meant to answer her question, but Frank ached to speak. He touched Gerard's shoulder, earning the vampire's attention, and raised his eyebrow only slightly to ask for permission to speak out. Gerard softened and he gave a subtle nod, looking away as Mina changed her focus to Frank.

Frank reached into the bag slung across his shoulder, gripping the zipper and pushing it back over the metal teeth to retrieve the one thing folded at the surface. His chest was filled with the resonating pain of grieving, but he took in a deep breath to make himself strong, taking out the folded shirt and showing Mina the stains of blood ruining the fabric.

"Lindsey wanted to get rid of any person I may have told about Gerard, so she sent one of her coven vampires to kill my best friend in cold blood." Frank said shakily, watching the sadness shadowing over Mina's face. "They brought me proof of her murder, and as a punishment for both myself and Gerard for making such a mess, I was supposed to be killed next."

Mina reached out, brushing her fingers over one of the blood stains now forever imbedded into the fabric of the shirt. Her sadness was as strongly visible in her face as it would have been in Frank's if he allowed himself to bring down all of the walls protecting himself from the stranger across from him. Mina was kind, showing more humanity in a handful of minutes than Lindsey had in a matter of days, but Frank was unsure of whether or not he could fully rely on her.

"A monster in disguise is what that woman is." Mina drew her hand away, eyes shining as she clenched her jaw. "You may stay here for as long as you need, and if that means an eternity, I will let it be. Come, we will meet the rest of the coven and there, you can tell us the full story." She gestured for the pair to follow her, her shoes clicking against the ground as she began making her way to one of the rooms filled with a pale yellow light casting over the pillars in the room.

Frank folded Jamia's shirt and safely tucked it away, pulling the strap away from his shoulder and setting his bag at the edge of the stairs as Gerard did the same with the rest. His hands trembled subtly with nerves, unknowing of whether or not she should put his trust in vampires who weren't Gerard.

"Do you trust her?" Frank whispered before they left, tugging Gerard's sleeve slightly to gain his attention. The vampire turned and looked back on him, seeing how Frank remained weary of his kind ever since the happenings with the New Jersey coven.

"Mina is kind and willing to help us." Gerard whispered to him. "If she was deceitful, I would be able to detect it. No harm will come to you here, Frank, I swore I would keep you safe."

Gerard's promise couldn't be empty. His words rang with truth, determination glittering inside his eyes each time he repeated it to Frank, and Frank didn't think anything in the world could have been filled with more truth. If Mina was an ally and not an enemy, Frank would be willing to speak with her and be assured that her coven would shelter them from the hands of Lindsey. If the time came where Lindsey went after them, Frank could put his trust in Mina's words stating she could sense Lindsey from miles away, a result of being a part of her flesh and blood. Frank wondered if Gerard could feel the same.

"You and Mina were both created by Lindsey," Frank said as they made their way towards the direction Mina had gone. "Can you sense her too?"

Gerard's lips twitched, discomfort drawn all over his features. "Unfortunately I can. The bond between a vampire and his creator can be the strongest thing to ever exist if the pair come together, a friendship and love that will surely last for eternity. In my case, my hatred for her runs deeper than the blood she has given me."

It sounded like it could have been the most beautiful link to exist. Sensing one another must have been the most ethereal experience to have if the person was a friend or lover, being tied together by so much more than spoken words and different feelings swirling in one another. Hate must have been equally as strong, burning true and terrible in one's veins until they swore off the bond, fighting against it.

"What would our bond be like if you turned me?" Frank found himself speaking without thinking about the depth of his question. It wasn't so that he wanted Gerard to turn him, but the question stewed under his skin, and he remained unsure what he meant when it came to terms of endearment.

"Such questions will have me wishing for things I can never strike upon you." Gerard avoided Frank's eyes, his jaw a set line as he went ahead of Frank for the human to follow him. Frank, slightly shocked, slowed his pace, but never stopped in his pursuit of meeting with the London coven awaiting them.

His uncertainty of what things Gerard spoke about was bound to keep him awake all night.


	12. Afraid

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gerard tells their story and Frank realizes what his dreams mean.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want to thank everyone who's reading this and leaving lovely comments, it all means more to me than you know.

Frank had been surrounded by vampires once before. A dinner table, all chairs occupied by vampires and their victims, all sadistic in their own way with the exception of the gentle vampire at his side- _his_ vampire, the only one whose human wasn't seated next to him as an appetizer before the main course. He felt terror filling him to the brim watching them feed, wondering if his neck was next to be punctured, before he was swept away from the scene. Nothing could erase it from his memory, but stepping away from the picture of macabre and violence could ease the trauma left inside his head.

He was being surrounded once more, but not by the smirking fanged creatures he'd seen underground the mansion in Jersey. These vampires were of a kinder coven, gentle expressions set on their angelic faces as they wearily filled the room after Mina had called out for them to join her and her one vampire companion in the room. The room was filled with three couches, red velvet fabric stretched over the cushions with gold, braided material stitched to the cases covering the pillows. A fire crackled warmly in the room, the smell of burning firewood as soothing as the sight of the glistening embers, filling Frank with warmth he hadn't discovered he needed until his body rippled with a chilled shiver. He was unsure of how to act, how to situate himself, and how to process being near so many beautiful creatures carefully watching him as if it were his kind prone to attacking. His stomach stirred with nerves and through his struggle of remaining calm, he believed the vampires could sense his complete harmlessness, and some of their scrutinizing looks seemed to simmer down, left to curiosity over his presence. It must have been foreign to them, for a vampire from another coven to enter their home with a trembling human at his arm. Frank assumed they didn't think of it as an intrusion or else they would sense they were unwelcome, with added a splinter of ease into him, though it wasn't nearly enough.

Frank sat on one of the sofas, perched anxiously on the edge, and Gerard sat close beside him with a slight protective inclination towards him. The sides of their thighs pressed together and it distracted Frank far too much. He cut his attention away from their legs and looked at the vampires standing around the room, some sinking down on the cushions with a grace immortalized into their kind. There were nine others besides Mina and the woman beside her who seemed to be her closest friend, sitting close to her as she observed Frank and Gerard. Her gaze was intense, but not unnerving, for she wasn't making a meal out of Frank in her imagination. At the lack of hunger in her eyes, Frank peeked at her through the veil of his lashes.

"My dearest friends," Mina spoke up to capture everyone's attention. "I would appreciate it immensely if you'd welcome our newest additions, Gerard and his human, Frank." She smiled warmly, her hand gracefully gesturing to the pair. "They've come a long way to find us. Imprisoned by Lindsey, it seems."

A quiet murmur swept around the room, shared distaste at the mention of her name. It made Frank smile smugly, but only briefly. Gerard caught his eyes when his lips curled up and Frank could see that his vampire held back a smile of his own.

"I have met you once, vampire. Does she still rule the underground of New Jersey?" One of the vampires in the room spoke up. Her hair, so light that it almost appeared white in the glow of the fire, was barely a shade darker than her pale white skin.

"She does, and the vampires she created are also strung along beside her," Gerard informed the woman he recognized. "We rose again to feed recently. However, the tradition of peace of broken, and the fault was all my own."

"Lindsey has inflicted cruelties upon this vampire and his human," Mina nodded once to the vampires gazing at her questionably. "We must protect them from her wrath. I know, as well as you, Nadine, Aura, Laila, and Marius, what evil lives in that woman. She may be running in our veins, but her darkness will keep us away from following her in footsteps."

Frank wondered which of the vampires in the room owned the four names she spoke out loud, the ones who were created from the hands of Lindsey. His eyes ran over each of them quickly, his gaze being met from the sharp and quick senses of the vampires in the room, and his face flushed. He dropped his eyes to his lap, the press of his thigh against Gerard's and how neither one of them seemed to want to move away from each other.

"What has she done to make you flee from her?" The woman beside Mina asked the pair sitting on the couch. Her wild red curls spilled over her milky shoulders, the sleeves of her pearl colored dress falling down her arms in layers of frilled lace. She was beautiful, perhaps the most lovely out of all of them, and Frank was fascinated by the silk of her voice.

"She seeks to kill my human as a penalty for his knowledge of vampires, also serving as my punishment for letting a mortal know of our kind for so long without ending his life." Gerard looked down at Frank, warmth in his eyes. "My dearest companion is innocent. Lindsey sent one of her puppets out to slaughter his best friend when she discovered he'd given her word about me. In return, she gave him a shirt stained with his friend's blood, confirming her death."

 _Murder_. Frank wanted to correct him, but he was choked up, dropping his gaze into his lap. Nothing would ever sting as horribly as the mention of Jamia's murder.

"Gods above," The redhead breathed, sharing a glance with the man standing beside her. She clasped his hand tight, clinging as if she may lose him. "Losing a loved one in such a manner is one of the most grueling pains in the world. We mourn her loss as well, young human."

Frank glanced up in surprise, seeing sympathy coming from a kind he learned to fear. Her words were genuine, as was the slight tilt of her head when their gazes touched, signifying her condolences brining a prickle of hurting to Frank's chest. The redhead's eyes glistened solemnly as she rose from her seat, crossing over to Frank with careful steps not to frighten him, offering her hand to him.

"My name is Aura." She greeted him softly as he hesitantly reached out to take her hand, shaking it softly. "Lindsey forced me to slaughter my own lover when she created me long ago. She urged me to feed, reached into the madness of my thirst, and persuaded me to drain him until there was nothing left."

Frank's chest ached, the thought of loss causing a swell of agony to rush into him at full speed. "I'm so sorry." His words to her were just as genuine, though his voice sounded tired, and it only came from the exhaustion he'd been suppressing for days.

Aura smiled softly, sad and sweet, and perched herself on the armrest of the sofa beside him.

"Tell us your full story, how Frank came to discover you." A dark haired man came over to stand beside Aura, the man whose hand she had grasped moments ago, and carded his fingers through her flaming red locks in an act of tenderness. Frank's chest filled with hollowness watching them exchange a romantic look, unknowing of the reasons why.

"Frank was a young child when I met him," Gerard began, digging into his memory as the vampires settled at last and let all tension melt away. "I was scouring the city to feed late at night, and somehow, Frank was alone, wandering the alleyways where I took one of my victims. A rogue vampire driven mad by thirst aimed to attack the poor boy. I couldn't let such innocence be killed in a violent way. I tore the vampire to shreds, assuring the boy's safety, and brought him back home."

"Rogue vampires are nothing short of the scum of the vampire race." The pale blonde woman who spoke once before spoke up as she curled into her seat.

"That they are," Gerard nodded slowly, returning to his train of thought. "My brother knew of my doings, and he told Lindsey of the child I had saved. He'd been bitter towards me for another reason, perhaps I should tell that story another time. Under her demand, I was instructed to find and kill Frank despite years passing by. I couldn't bring myself to do it, not when something about him seemed so horribly innocent and familiar. I murdered another, letting Lindsey believed it was his life I took . . ."

Gerard continued to tell the tale in full detail, describing the horrors and the revelations made during his time with Frank. Frank zoned out of the conversation, deciding that living through it was horrible enough. He could see in the shifting of expressions in the ones surrounding him that these vampires carried humanity in them still, despite falling victim to a species that was far from the human race. He thought how wrong he was to think that all vampires were the same sadistic beings that only saw mortals as flesh and blood to feed upon. Gerard couldn't possibly be the only vampire left with a grip on the goodness of his art, acting out of purity even if it caused such a mess. The only thing they could do was keep themselves hidden away from the evil eyes of Lindsey seeking to inflict the worst of pain on them without tools of violence piercing into their skin. Frank feared every second that she would discover their hiding place, that he would be ripped away from Gerard.

Gerard's story and the tale of which Frank's blood shared his true love's cells and scent was told to the vampires willing to listen, each one of them tipped forward with deep intrigue at the complex connection keeping Gerard drawn to Frank. He worried often that his blood was the only reason why Gerard refused to live without him, that his vampire closed his eyes and pretended Charlotte was at his arm instead of Frank, the human coming from her line of blood that the vampire once fell in love with. Frank felt gratitude for being kept safe from a man risking everything for him, but the subconscious doubt lingering in his head had him faltering, wondering if he continued to live for the right reasons.

Frank believed Aura sensed his distressful concern. He met her eyes once while the story of his blood was being told, struggling to keep the frown away from his lips. She smiled subtly down at him, shaking her head, as if she was reassuring him that Charlotte's scent imbedded in his veins was not the single reason why Gerard kept him by his side. He quite liked Aura, her red curls and gentle smile, connecting with Frank's pain at a comforting level as she had years to grieve and find another lover. She was a reassurance to him, letting him know that his wounds would seal on their own, patience was all it took.

At the end of the night, Mina stood from her seat when a period of silence fell over the vampires. Her gown glistened in the fire slowly dying in the room, hair falling across her shoulders like a draping curtain of silk. It reminded Frank of the consistency of Gerard's midnight hair.

"My sweet friends, I trust that you and I will keep Gerard and Frank safe and in the hands of hospitality." Mina glanced around the circle of vampires. "Many of you know how it feels to be in great need of escaping a person capable of taking away all you care for."

They nodded, some of the vampires reaching out for each other and clinging to their sides, others standing close as Frank remained close to his vampire. He raised his eyes and met Gerard's eyes, watching the vampire smile at him in relief, but Frank couldn't find it in himself to smile back when so many worries and lingering pain tainted the single shred of happiness buried deep under the dark layers of his haunted memories. Gerard's eyes twinkled with concern, but he spoke no longer, and Mina rose her voice again.

"I would like to welcome you properly to our family." Mina smiled at the pair, gesturing to the vampires who went without introduction. "These are Nadine, Elora, Nicolas, Jack, Laila, Raveena, Alexander, and Marius." One of her gesturing hands moved to the man standing beside Aura-- Marius, her mate, it seemed. The pale blonde woman was Laila, the set of twins with hair as black of Gerard's being Raveena and Alexander, three a group of brunettes of Asian descent and one dark skinned man---Elora, Nicolas, and Jack. Frank was overwhelmed by the beauty he drank in with his tired, burning eyes, blinking away to clear his vision as they practically glowed with the quality of their flawless skin and enchanting eyes gazing at him with interest.

"It's a honor to meet you all, and I am very thankful of you all opening your home to Frank and I," Gerard paused, glancing down at Frank who was too exhausted to speak or move another limb to express his gratitude beside Gerard's. He offered a meek nod, at most, hoping he didn't seem abrasive. "But I do ask if we may retire for the night. My human needs rest, all of the events taking place seemed to have taken a grand toll on him."

"Of course. I could only imagine the exhaustion he feels." Mina nodded, a movement of her hand letting the vampires in the room know they were allowed to disperse. They disappeared one by one in flashes of color, eventually leaking out of the room until it was only Frank and Gerard with Mina. Aura lingered for a moment, touching Frank's hand softly. He turned to glance at her in surprise.

"I wish to speak with you soon, human. Sleep well." She whispered to him, fading into a streak of red and white as she sped towards her own bedroom to possibly meet with her lover. He stared after her until Mina spoke up.

"I suppose you want separate chambers?" Mina asked them, briefly hesitating.

Frank blushed, hidden behind Gerard. The vampire quietly agreed to her question, tucking Frank into his side and leading him behind Mina who rhythmically walked towards the steps and the separate wings of the mansion holding rows of bedrooms for them to occupy.

Frank's room was chosen first. The room was darkened by the curtains keeping the moonlight out, but the dark wooden floors still glistened from the light of the halls seeping in, also covering the wide bed centered against the wall and the deep colored blankets spread over the mattress. The rugs on the ground were threaded with intricate designs of red and black, rolling across the patch of ground at the foot of the bed and both of the sides. A tall vanity table sat at the corner of the room, thin glass framed with thick dark wood carved to fit around the rounded shape of the mirror. A trunk, possibly made to hold clothes, sat pressed against one of the walls, and Frank was pleased to see this room also had a fireplace prepared for warming flames to fill it. They stepped inside with the bags Gerard had grabbed from the foot of the stairs, leaving them by the door.

"I expect that you will sleep just fine here, Frank. You live in luxury just as the rest of us." Mina smiled kindly at him, pulling the thick black curtains over the windows to let in the pale moonlight, giving him a view of the glittering night sky and the tree outside the paned glass with curved branches dripping with glistening drops of rain.

"Thank you." Frank meekly spoke, hoping he didn't seem rude with his subtle weariness of vampires lingering in his blood on instinct. Mina smiled, as if she understood, and softly touched his shoulder with her elegant hand.

"Gerard will be just across from your room for easy access." Mina consoled him, ghosting over to Gerard who stood at the doorway. "That said, the room here is yours, Gerard. I didn't think either of your would want to be so far apart in a house you've never stayed in before." She pointed to the door across from Frank's. Gliding over the space of the hallway between them, she twisted the handle and opened the door, gesturing for Gerard to follow her.

While they set up, Frank wandered over to the window in the room. He saw his own reflection in the glass, messy hair and dropping lids over exhausted, lifeless eyes. He could have counted as a corpse if he wasn't still breathing, darting his tongue out over his lips to wet and rid them of their dryness. He _felt_ like the life had been drained out of him, and if he compared the way he lived now to the normal life he had back home only weeks ago, the difference would have been comical if he had any mind or energy to force a laugh out of himself. Frank felt his fair share of depression throughout his life, but nothing could compare to the still emptiness of this. He never imagined what losing so much would feel like, though he gained what he spent his life searching for.

When Gerard returned, Mina retired to her own chambers, leaving the vampire alone with Frank. Frank had already been changed into his sleeping clothes, bare feet padding over the wooden floor to get to the fireplace prepared with wood and a lighter upon the shelf nailed above it. It was cold inside the room and he supposed the vampires didn't find the need to turn on the heat when their bodies were attuned to cold temperatures.

"Let me." Gerard told him softly, taking the lighter from Frank's shaking hands. Frank let him, watching him open the small gate concealing the pit and reaching in with his hand to touch the flaming tip of the lighter to the wood. It caught fire quickly, crackling loudly at first, until it calmed down and became a steady pit of flames. Frank sat at the side of his bed, watching the fire come alive. The orange glow bled over Frank's skin, draining the rest of his color, versus the way it filled Gerard's white skin with vibrancy. The vampire slid onto the bed beside him, legs hanging off the edge. Neither one of them said anything for a while, the silence breaking moments later.

"She won't find us here." Gerard told him. Attempting to soothe the worries going through Frank's head.

"Even if she does, you say these vampires will protect us." Frank cleared his throat to rid of the thickness rasping in his voice. "But how can you trust them so easily? I like them, they seem kind. But how can we rely on them without giving a second thought?"

"I _have_ thought this through." Gerard said. "If these vampires thirsted for blood and betrayal, they would have stayed with Lindsey instead of running from her. Vampires sense the good and the evil in one another, and nothing but kindness radiates off of Mina and her clan. They will keep you safe here, I can promise you as much."

Frank couldn't fight with the senses coming along with the breed of vampires. He couldn't deny anything he didn't understand, making vampires more and more unique to him as the time passed, but he was weary to break through his fear of them. He only trusted one vampire, the one beside him.

"I keep having nightmares." Frank whispered. "Nightmares of blood and death and the place where your coven is staying. I don't dream of other people dying, I keep seeing myself getting killed."

Gerard turned to him with gentle concern. His lips parted slightly while he thought of words to say. "You know I will do everything in my ability to keep you alive."

Frank shook his head, tingles breaking out over the back of his skull. "I . . . I don't dream of other vampires killing me. I dream of-I dream of _you_ killing me."

Gerard fell into shocked silence. Frank hated saying it, realizing it sounded like he was afraid of Gerard being the death of him. He fleetingly feared that Gerard would kill him only once, the time where he went for his throat, but it wasn't done without hesitation, humanity making him tear away from him. He knew deep in his heart that he wasn't afraid of Gerard, he was afraid of vampires, of the things he'd witnessed unfolding before his eyes, how every pure thing could easily be vanquished by evil of a vampire allowed blood lust to consume them.

"I would never hurt you." Gerard sounded wounded. He rose to his feet, looking Frank in the eye. "I couldn't _ever_  think of killing you, Frank, I . . . "

"I know. I'm not afraid of you." Frank swallowed hard, guilty for stinging Gerard with his confession. "But these dreams take a turn from something that isn't cruel. I . . . I can't tell you exactly what that means, but I can tell you that the only reason why these nightmares keep happening is because I don't want to be like Charlotte."

Gerard flinched slightly, painful and lasting only a second. His eyes begged Frank to explain and the vampire took one step closer. Frank released his gaze from the grip of Gerard's, his chest hurting dully.

"We aren't in love with each other, but we have a strong connection that obviously keeps us from staying away. Now that I know who I really am to you and after everything's happened, I can only see it going in one direction. You could end up killing me just like you had to kill her." He was haunted, haunted by the paintings of nightmares he couldn't forget. Joining Gerard in a kiss that lead to the vampire bedding him, being soaked in blood before either one of them had a chance to breathe. It seemed so far fetched, knowing they would never kiss, let alone escalate to sex, but the possibility of being killed after hitting a dead end was the most realistic ending for the two of them. As much as Frank hated to say it, he knew Gerard would end up having to live without him at some point.

"You aren't Charlotte." Gerard reminded him. Frank thought it was humorous for Gerard to say that when he so often felt like Gerard looked into Charlotte's blood instead of Frank's eyes when their gazes locked. "I brought us here so you wouldn't end up like her. I'll remind you of that as many times as I need to."

"You need to be reminded of it, too, Gerard." Frank's eyes unexpectedly filled with tears, and he wasn't sure why this stung him so badly. "I don't want you to look for her when you look at me. I want to be here because you see your friend when your eyes are looking at mine. Not because I'm the last piece of Charlotte that you have left."

Gerard's lips opened and shut, and he was also stunned by the pain exhibited in Frank's tears. Frank wanted to stop crying, his tears burned his tired eyes and he was sick of being weak, so fragile, so human. He wanted to know why it hurt when he wondered if Charlotte was the only reason why Gerard even bothered to look at him with warm, caring eyes, why he risked it all to protect him. He could console Frank all he wanted, but the truth would always be buried deep within.

"You are my greatest companion." Gerard whispered to him. He came forward, touching Frank's hand lightly to gain his attention. "I sense her in your veins, smell her, but you overtake your own body, and your scent has become its own as well as your mind that I've come to care about."

Frank looked up at him with watery eyes, clinging to Gerard's eyes. His vampire smiled at him sweetly, fangs barely making an appearance in the careful and practiced way he tucked his lips over them.

"She was my lover, and you are my human. I still see the child I met fourteen years ago in your eyes, and I will do anything to protect him, along with the grown version of you." Gerard touched Frank's chin lightly, affectionately.

Frank didn't know how to respond. He was done with words, so he replied with actions. He swung his arms around Gerard's waist and hugged him tightly, his heart swelling in his chest with deep gratitude. He lost Jamia, his freedom, but he had Gerard to assure him that he still lived and breathed, he hadn't been knocked over by the blow of loss as he thought he might have.

Gerard stroked his hair lightly, feeling Frank shudder against him. His head rested on Gerard's chest, hearing a curious heartbeat inside, and he realized Gerard still partially functioned like a human. It made him feel closer to his vampire, oddly. The heartbeat strongly beating in Gerard's chest stopped his crying instantly.

"Rest now." Gerard pulled away from Frank, eyes swimming with warmth. "In the morning, we can acquaint ourselves better with our new friends. I know Aura has taken a friendly liking to you."

Frank nodded and wiped the tears that went cold on his cheeks away. Gerard was turning to walk away and somehow, it made Frank panic.

"Don't go." Frank blurted out. He blushed deeply as Gerard turned around questioningly, arching one perfect eyebrow at him.

Frank pulled the thick comforter away from the top of the bed slowly, peeling it back as he moved to slide underneath it. "Can . . . can you stay? I don't want to be alone." He was beginning to grow dependent on the presence of his vampire. It would have been negative if Gerard's heart was rotten, but he was the only shred of goodness left in Frank's life. He needed to nourish it if Gerard would be the only light he saw for the years that came.

Gerard hesitated. Frank wondered what he was thinking as it was so clear the vampire was contemplating in his spot. Frank slid under the covers, feeling how truly mentally and physically exhausted he was the moment his back glided over one of the plump pillows smelling of clean cotton and faintly of cherries.

Gerard decided he would stay. He walked around the side of the bed, toeing his shoes off, careful with the way he moved as he kneeled on the bed and settled beside Frank. He slid over the covers, not climbing inside of them, and laid back against one of the pillows with his hands folded across his stomach. Frank got comfortable in the nest of warm blankets and pillows, turning onto his side and looking at Gerard with sleepy, half open eyes. Gerard gazed back at him for a long moment, eyes a swirling olive green with dancing pupils, Frank could have sworn the specks of brown in them floated around the ring of his irises like snow falling over a sweet landscape of grass.

"I care for you so deeply, my human." Gerard whispered, but Frank was already gone, blackness falling around him as he lost all consciousness to sleep.


	13. Sudden Possibility

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Frank is given news about a possibility that's hard to stomach.

The sun's powerful rays nearly swallowed Gerard's form whole as he stood in front of the window. It was the first thing Frank saw when he woke up, squinting from the suddenly assault of light, but opening his eyes entirely when his eyes traced the dark form of Gerard dressed for the day, standing across from the window. He watched the vampire turn around as he sensed Frank's gaze, blocking most of the harsh sunlight now, but slivers of yellow and gold bathed the black strands of the man's hair and glowed over the perfect pale flesh whitened by his nature. He was dipped in golden lighting and the warmth of spring, almost too wonderful of a sight to be the first thing Frank opened his eyes to. Brilliant green eyes, gorgeous hands lifting to brush his hair away from his face, a small smile rising to his lips as soon as he realized he'd caught Frank's attention. Something about him, the curves and soft paleness of his physique, it made Frank understand why humans fell victim to these creatures. Their mesmerizing beauty and promising hands, bodies that could easily seduce and ensnare. Frank just couldn't see himself ever being tipped back onto a bed with this vampire's fangs sinking into the tender flesh of his neck.

"Good morning, my sweet friend." Gerard greeted in a voice that sounded like the embodiment of blood red velvet. "I trust that you slept well?"

Frank scooted into a sitting position of the bed, stretching his legs out in front of him and drawing in a deep breath into his lungs. "I did. Better than I ever have these past few days."

"You slept so soundly and seemed to count on my presence. I stayed with you all night to keep you as peaceful as you were."

Frank knew the reason why he didn't see another nightmare in the land of sleep was because of Gerard reassuring presence beside him. He felt him in his seemingly dreamless state of sleep, as strongly as he would have if their wrists were bound together.

"Did you sleep good, too?" Frank asked him to turn the subject of the conversation onto another section of their path.

Gerard smiled softly, gracefully sitting on the bed and looked over his shoulder at Frank. "Vampires don't sleep, not exactly. Our bodies don't require constant recharging. We enter a state similar to a coma, but awaken as soon as we please without needing to gain energy to rise as humans do. We can go weeks without sleep."

Frank wished he could work that way. He would be in eternal relief if it meant never having to face nightmares again, but then again, not all of his dreams left his heart more wounded than it had been before he closed his eyes, so where would he escape to if he needed to disconnect from real life events? He scratched his nails over the golden threads in the thick comforter still laid over his body.

"That must be nice." Frank rubbed the lingering sleep from his eyes, slowly rising from the bed and stretching his arms above him.

"I miss dreams." Gerard startled Frank as he suddenly appeared beside him, holding out a folded pile of clothes for him to change into with a forlorn smile on his face. Frank recognized sadness in Gerard's eyes as he slowly took the clothes in his hands.

"I bet your dreams were pretty." Frank whispered.

"I barely remember them as my memory has endured plenty, but I recall dreaming of such wonderful things. Dreams of being a king, of being surrounded by art . . . being in love, most of all, as my human self longed for it secretly." Gerard's smiled seemed to show his true age within them, many years living within the curl of his lips wistfully turning upwards as he remembered the visions triggered by sleep moving in swaying images through his mind while he slept as a human. So young, he appeared, but his soul and mind were pushing past the boundaries of youth and settling into an immortal state ingrained into the possibility of myth.

"Do you have a favorite dream that you can remember?" Frank was surprised Gerard could still describe to him the nature of such visions in his human slumber.

Gerard hummed softly in thought. His eyes flickered all across the pile of clothes laying in Frank's laps while he pondered, moving to slowly sit in front of the human. His thigh pressed against Frank's knee, only softly, but enough for Frank's gaze to train onto the bit of contact. It felt more natural than anything else in the world, he thought, wondering why that was.

"I had a dream once that I was William Shakespeare." Gerard looked up.

A sudden laugh expelled from Frank's mouth before he could address the way it rose in his throat. Gerard's eyes twinkled, giving Frank a sideways glance.

"That's oddly specific." Frank smiled. "What happened?"

"Well, I remember gathering all of my plays and poems, spreading them out in front of me, and wondering how in the world I was meant to create a masterpiece like any of those when I wasn't the true writer." Gerard touched his bottom lip, a slow smile spreading across his face. "I was forced to carry on, pretending that I wasn't a normal man trapped inside a poet's body, and the most peculiar part was that no one seemed to notice anything."

"Did you try to write?"

"Of course, some part of me wondered if I would be able to construct impeccable material since the brain wasn't mine." Gerard paused, a velvety chuckle fluttering past his lips. "I failed miserably. I could never amount to Shakespeare."

"I think you could create beautiful things," Frank said softly, barely containing a blush at his own confession. "With your own words, your own mind."

Gerard's smile softened, as did his eyes. "Kindly spoke, dear. I fear I'd only ever pursue such a thing in dreams, which I unfortunately can never have again."

"I could tell you all of mine if you ever miss them too much." Frank offered, as he felt strangely guilty for being so desperate to crawl away from his taunting and vivid dreams while Gerard could only scarcely remember what it felt like to immerse in a land of vision and fantasy.

"Sweet human." Gerard murmured fondly, brushing a stray lock of hair away from Frank's forehead. The cool kiss of his fingertips brushing over the warm skin of Frank's head sent a shiver into his bones, an uninvited blush creeping in to fill his cheeks with color. Gerard's lips glossed over into a soft smile and he drew his pale hand away.

"I suppose you'd like to bathe?" Gerard asked him gently.

Frank grimaced as he realized his own stickiness, the greasy stands of his hair in dire need of a washing after his daily routine of staying as clean as possible was broken through the spur of intense days sucking him in. Frank rubbed his upper arm self-consciously, nodding at Gerard's question.

"Come with me. Mina showed me the bathing room in the early hours of the morning while you were still asleep." Gerard placed a careful hand on the small of Frank's back and led him to the door to bring them out to the hallway. "Everything you need to wash up with is inside the tub, along with fresh towels and lotions."

"Have you tried it?" Frank asked meekly, a hint of a smile on his lips.

Gerard nodded, tugging the collar of his shirt. "It's quite luxurious."

They stopped in front of a tall door only midways open, and from there, Frank could see a sliver of their reflection from the rounded mirror inside, the polished and mosaic porcelain floors beginning at the division at the doorway. Frank blushed deeply to see how disheveled he appeared next to clean and perfectly beautiful Gerard, a ghastly comparison to a man who appeared to be the walking embodiment of an angel carved from marble.

"When you've finished, you will be meeting us in the dining room. Do you know where that is?" Gerard pushed the door open for Frank.

"I don't."

"The room at the right side of the staircase." Gerard stepped out of the room after Frank entered. "I'll leave you to your privacy now, _mon petit humain_."

Frank's eyes widened slightly at the fluid silk rushing from Gerard's lips, a tone he'd heard only once before. "What did you say?"

Gerard smiled shyly, turning away from the door and beginning to shut it as he whispered, "My little human in a language that was once my own."  
  


_

 

The bath was one of the most cleansing experiences Frank had ever encountered. While washing seemed to be one of the most human activities to ever take part in, something about the warmth of the water in the wide porcelain tub made him feel like it was soaking into his pores and staying there even after he'd lathered his skin with soap that smelled of roses, shampoo carrying the faint scent of melon in the spring. The tub, wide and deeper than any other he'd stepped into before was filled to the brim with water and he found his body wanting to float rather than sink in the vast treasure. He submerged underneath a few times and remained there until his lungs were squeezing for air, helping clear his head out of the toxic thoughts more and more each time all sound was muffled under the comforting temperatures he'd set into the water.

Frank, finally alone to keep to his own thoughts, let a few droplets of tears rain from his eyes and drip into the water embracing his body like a second element of skin. He didn't shake, he didn't hurt inside, but something inside of him pushed his body to a point where tears streamed silently down his face in slick paths. The numbness would pass, he knew this, it was only a stage of grieving he would partake in before the true pain set in. For now, he relished in the sweetness of unfeeling tears, knowing soon, they would be tears filled with agony surging in his heart that ached from the blow of his loss. Frank wrapped his arms around himself long after he smelled sweet and his hair was beginning to dry from being above the surface for so long.

When Frank finally stepped out of the tub, he could see the steam from the water sticking to the mirrors, droplets of condensation rolling down the glass and onto the gray marble countertops. He wiped away a section of the mist, feeling the wetness of it spilling onto his hand, and he looked at himself in the mirror to make sure he didn't look like he'd spent a moment shedding tears to himself. Only the corners of his eyes were puffy, but he could easily lie and tell the vampires that he was suffering from tiredness and would possibly lay down to rest earlier tonight. He brushed his fingers through his hair after he dressed himself in the dark jeans and long-sleeve shirt Gerard had given to him, slipping on a pair of socks and shoes.

Frank easily found the dining room after following Gerard's instructions. The room was bathed in light from the sun and glittering porcelain flooring, black furniture set up across the tiles and greenery from luscious plants being fed precious sunlight from the open windows. Frank's eyes scanned over the lively leaves strung onto a thick green stem laying atop of the breakfast counter stools until his eyes landed on Mina who held a tin of water in her graceful hands, tipping over the object to allow water to sprinkle from the spout at the end and into the soil of the potted plant.

"Our darling human, good morning to you." Mina immediately noticed his presence amongst the other few vampires in the room, her smile gleaming as if it were a vile of sunshine itself. She was dressed in a cream colored gown fitted to her slim waist, the neckline crossing over just below her collarbones in a neat line and leading to thick straps of lace below her pale shoulders glistening in the lighting. Her dark hair was loose down her back, diamond earrings dangling from her delicate ears. From here, Frank could see the subtle dusting of glitter over her eyelids, the long lashes darkened by makeup, and yet she still remained natural in her beauty.

"Good morning." Frank greeted her quietly, but politely all the same. He found Gerard sitting at the table with Aura, sifting through newspapers he seemed thoroughly dedicated to as he drank in every word.

"Would you like something to eat? Also, do humans still have an affinity for coffee? I would be more than happy to brew some for you." Mina appeared in a flurry beside Frank, her presence almost shocking if Frank hadn't been growing used to the impossible speed of vampires.

"Only if you don't mind." Frank meekly replied.

Mina beamed at the shyness of his tone, reminding him of the mother he hadn't realized he missed. "Of course. We have fresh banana nut bread from the early morning and I'll make you some coffee as well. Cream and sugar?"

"Only cream, thank you."

Mina nodded brightly, pushing the door to the kitchen open and gliding inside to prepare a  plate for Frank. Frank, now feeling less tense than he had in the beginning after being nourished by Mina's kindness, quietly made his way to the chair beside Gerard, pursing his lips and capturing Aura's bright eyes from across the black table.

"How was your rest, dear Frank?" Aura rested her pale cheek into the cradle of her palm, smiling slightly at him.

"I haven't slept that good in a long time." Frank admitted. "It's been chaos recently, I haven't been sleeping right."

"I suppose your mate kept you company?" Her tone, teasing and light, brought a rush of blood to Frank's cheeks.

"Why must you vampires tease my friend of the idea of us being mates so often?" Gerard suddenly spoke up. Frank thought he may have been serious for a moment, but he glanced at his vampire just in time to see the faint smile at his lips, the glittering of his eyes peering at Aura over the papers.

"I only tug at your legs, dear ones." Aura sat back in her seat serenely, smoothing her hands over the yellow silk of her summer gown. She crossed her elegant legs and brought a steaming porcelain cup of a beverage unknown to Frank to her lips, sipping slowly. "I only have a belief that your crossing paths was nothing short of fate, and your friendship intrigues me so."

Frank's heart sounded like skipping stones over the surface of a clear lake. He stole a glance at Gerard from the corner of his eye, seeing his vampire do the same, and another odd sensation of tipping backwards filled him to the top of his head. He grasped the chair he sat in, quickly looking away.

"Humans can be so much more than a vessel of blood." Gerard told her, voice smooth as pearls rubbing over the tips of fingers. "Wasn't your mate a human when you met many years ago?"

Aura's tiny smile stretched into a grin over pearly white teeth, fangs sticking out from her pale pink gums in a way so sweet on her pretty face. If it had been Lindsey grinning in such a way, her fangs would have sent Frank cowering towards the ground in fear.

"My beautiful Marius, my English sweet." Aura's voice was but a sigh floating in the ninth cloud of romance. "He was human, yes, just as you and I once were. He was a shoe-shiner scouring the streets for money, and for me, he would steal the loveliest strings of pearls for my neck and shine my jewelry as his way of professing his love for me. It would be merely impossible not to fall in love with someone so pure of heart, let alone someone as handsome as him." She giggled softly, twirling one of her curls around her finger.

"Did you change him right away?" Frank asked out of curiosity.

"I didn't. I wanted to wait until after we were married, it was a promise I made to him. In exchange for his vow of eternal love, I would grant him the gift of immorality so he wouldn't perish as I stayed at this age." Aura stirred her tea slowly, gazing at the ring glistening on her finger. "He was my first love after my mate was ripped from me. He took away the emptiness that never faded, and filled the void."

Frank could see the love Aura held for her mate in her expression, how her lips smiled around his name, her lashes fluttering as she spoke of their memories so fondly. Frank imagined the pair must have felt a love deeper than any of the romances shared between humans. Vampires seemed to love with intensity unknown to humankind, as Frank had read and seen in multiple movies, and listening to the story almost felt like an evasion of privacy.

"You sound like you're very taken with him." Frank observed in soft amusement.

"Always have been." Aura nodded.

"Falling for the beautiful soul of a human is a second heaven," Gerard spoke, staring out the window, almost unaware of the words he spoke. "Finding one pure enough to fall for is truly a gift when the world is ridden by souls stained of sin."

"We are all stained with sin, Gerard, but some of us less than others." Aura sipped her tea quietly, peering at him from over the rim of her cup with wide green eyes decorated with specks of a darker version of the color.

"What's your sin?" Gerard turned to look at her, smiling halfway in a humorous tone.

"Lust." Aura giggled, and Frank's cheeks filled with color. "And yours?"

"Selfishness." Gerard pursed his lips, rubbing them together, and spared a brief glance with Frank before Mina entered the room once again, holding a silver tray in her hands.

"Don't intimidate the human with talk of sin, my sweets." Mina warned the vampires warmly and slid the tray in front of Frank who realized just how ravenous he was when the smell of sweet bread and roasted coffee wafted under his nose.

"We didn't even ask him what his sin is!" Aura pouted, setting her porcelain cup down and smiling widely at Frank. "What is it?"

"Enough, you tease." Mina materialized beside her friend, lightly pressing her fist against her shoulder.

Frank looked down into the swirling coffee in the white mug on the silver platter in front of him as his mind pulled together the seven deadly sins, the dozens more tainting the purity of humankind. He remembered them one by one, construing some type of order, but none of them he could easily identify with his own self. With a pang of mild surprised, Frank looked up at a giggling Aura who playfully shoved Mina's side, red curls spilling over her shoulders.

"I don't have a sin." Frank looked up in that moment, immediately catching Gerard's gaze that flickered from slight surprised by his answer to a look swirling with warmth, almost like the steam curling up from the coffee cup on the table had floated into his irises and swarmed around in slow circles.

"I love this human." Aura sat back in her chair, allowing Mina to sit close to her side and tug softly at one of her red curls as she smiled fondly at Frank.

"Gain your energy, darling," Mina chuckled softly, pushing the tray closer to Frank. "We have matters to discuss today."

_  
  


Frank was sitting in between Aura and Gerard on a swinging bench outdoors, surrounded by a beautiful garden full of gravel and bricks paths, a bubbling pond nearby filled with lily pads and chirping birds delicately hopping from the branches of the cherry blossom trees. Unconsciously, he leaned closer to Gerard one the bench creaking softly underneath their weight and the gentle swinging, his leg pressed tight against the vampire's. Aura shared a discreet look with Mina, who attempted to keep the atmosphere serious as she assembled an abundance of newspapers, but a smirk going unnoticed by the vampire and the human was exchanged with her best friend as they noticed the closeness of the pair.

"I hoped the setting would bring you at ease, Frank." Mina cleared her throat softly, dark waves of her hair being thrown across her shoulder from the fluttering breeze drifting through the air.

"It's gorgeous out here." Frank's eyes lingered on the dove nestled in the branches of one of the trees, sleeping peacefully despite the blue and red birds hopping from tree to tree with songs of joy filtering through their throats. The setting was peaceful, but the matter at hand left him nervous, his nail digging into the skin beside his thumb from an anxious habit.

"The most beautiful part of our home." Mina looked around her, her hand gliding over the marble bench she perched on across from the swinging seat Frank sat on with two of his vampire friends.

"The cherry blossoms were my idea." Aura whispered to Frank, giggling softly.

He smiled, shifting and feeling his ankle tap Gerard's. "But, what's going on?"

Mina's expression faltered slightly. Her eyes darted to Gerard's stiffening form, suspiciously quirking one of her eyebrows at Frank's vampire who hadn't uttered a word since they'd step out. Frank looked into his face, watching the hard line of his jaw twitch as he gave a subtle nod, refusing to meet Frank's questioning eyes. Slightly stung, Frank looked towards Mina for the answer.

She grasped the papers in her hands, eyes skimming quickly over the front cover. "These were what Gerard was reading in the morning. We all wanted to discuss it with you after you were prepared for the day as to let your mind recharge a bit. I think you may want to read these, lovely." Mina outstretched her arm with the papers in her hand for Frank to take.

Slightly hesitant, his lips parted a bit. He leaned forward, taking the newspaper into his hands with a careful touch, almost like they would fall apart if he didn't handle them with such grace as Mina unintentionally had. Frank glanced at Aura who made a small noise beside him, seeing she was rising from her seat to sit beside Mina, caressing her hair away from her shoulder to ease the woman's distress.

Frank swallowed hard and opened the front cover. Immediately, he found an inky picture of a neighborhood much too familiar to him to be good--it was a newspaper, meaning something either terrible or wonderful had taken place on that street. His eyes dragged to the picture underneath, shock bursting in his gut when he found pictures of Jamia and himself. A gasp was trapped in his throat at an instant and he looked up in panic.

"You have to read it." Gerard whispered.

"I'm not sure if I want to." Frank choked out.

"Darling," Aura interjected gently. "There is much to say, but we can't share anything unless you read the article."

Frank swallowed thickly. He expected there to be something about Jamia's murder, an unfathomable story of how she'd been brutally murdered by an unknown person, and possibly a following tale of his sudden disappearance. He drew in a shaky sigh and shut his eyes tight. There must have been an explanation inside, perhaps one that would bring him one step closer to healing, accepting that nothing could have saved Jamia. He bit his lip until pain rang through it and he let it go. He opened his eyes and began to read.

Just as he'd expected, the article was hardly detailed in the explaining the disappearance of himself and his best friend. His disappearance beforehand, having been reported by Jamia and even his distant parents, which he was shocked to learn as he read further in. It was followed by the neighbors of Jamia reporting a scream, the sound of glass breaking, and struggle inside the apartment beside theirs until silence ensued. Incredibly concerned and frightened, the neighbors found the door was unlocked, and when they stepped in with their phone in hand in preparation to dial the police, they were horrified to discover blood spreading over the kitchen tiles, bloody handprints over the countertops, so much blood seeping through every crack in the surfaces it touched, but . . .

"No body was found." Frank croaked. Tears were building in his throat and his chest had began rising and falling rapidly in the process of reading the paper. He hadn't been aware of it until now that nausea seeped into his gut, causing him to grow pale as a sheet.

"Oh dear." Mina murmured, taking the papers from Frank as Gerard placed a cool hand on Frank's forehead, touching gently and trailing it around his shoulder to rub his back as a soothing movement to bring him through the unknown feelings leaving him with a strong urge to vomit.

"It could mean something very important, Frank." Aura softly spoke.

"That they dumped her body somewhere where no one could find it?" Frank snapped. "They probably ripped her to pieces, tossed her into the ocean."

" _Shh_ ," Gerard softly whispered into his ear. "We don't know that."

"What makes her so different from all the other victims those vampires have taken? Even you, Gerard, I know you've disposed of bodies that way." Frank scooted away from his vampire, ignoring the hurt look in his eyes and trying not to let guilt override everything he felt inside.

"Frank, please listen." Mina shoved the papers off to the side and pursed her lips. "If Lindsey wanted to cause you pain, her task in ending Jamia's life would have been a mess. Neatness doesn't come to her mind when she kills out of spite."

"She forced me to watch the body of my lover burn after I'd drained him, almost as if she attempted to numb my emotions to make me as evil as her," Aura spoke, and Frank could almost see the fire she'd witnessed burning in her bright green eyes. "When Gerard was instructed to kill the child he'd let grow with knowledge of our existence, she wanted the remains of the body and murder to be broadcasted everywhere for her to see proof that the deed was done."

"What are you trying to say?" Frank's gaze whipped from one vampire to the other, shifting over and over again as his throat began to close up and his eyes stung from the realization slowly sinking in before either one of the vampires spoke up.

"What we mean to say is that," Mina sighed, capturing Frank's gaze and assuring it remained frozen there for when she made the reveal. "Jamia may still be alive, and if not alive, then she is one of us."

Frank had felt the world stop many times during his experience with the supernatural. Slipping away from him while he was cradled in the arms of his vampire while being carried away from danger, learning about Jamia's death as he held her shirt soaked in fresh blood close to his chest as everything around him seemed to spin at full speed before stopping completely. The world around him had yet to be obliterated, but once he found this theory that felt so achingly possible, he wished his surroundings would crumble down so he wouldn't need to see her fate for his own self.

" _No_ ," Frank whispered. His hands shook like shivering autumn leaves fallen from their branches. "No . . . why would Lindsey want Jamia? What importance could she possibly hold to her?"

"We aren't certain." Mina's voice had become considerately softer. "But we want to find out if she is alive or not for your sake."

"It's impossible, Mina, the coven is in New Jersey and surely danger would come to us if we approached them after Frank and I ran away from our death sentence." Gerard decided to interject, and his voice sounded as stiff and solid as an onyx jewel from the way the bleakness laced in his words colored them pitch black.

Frank was numb, but the ice freezing over the painful pumping of his heart was beginning to thaw out enough for him to take in Gerard's words with shock. He looked at the vampire through his astonishment, skimming over the hard lines of his jaw and how his lips had thinned from the cold expression pulling together his handsome face.

"My best friend may be alive and held captive by Lindsey, and you're more concerned with a coven of vampires being dangerous?" Frank gawked at him.

"Do you want us to be torn to shreds to get to her?" Gerard's cold gaze, unwelcome and unfamiliar, sucked Frank in until he was shivering all over and he wanted to crawl away from the vampire who normally exuded such warmth.

"If they're willing to help, why can't _you_ be? We aren't going to mindlessly charge in there to find her." Frank stood up from the swing, facing his vampire with growing frustration in his chest.

"We will develop a plan, of course, somehow we will lure Lindsey out of the underground as a distraction." Mina attempted to lay peace over the thickening atmosphere.

"No." Gerard said firmly. "It's impossible to distract them all, if one of those vampires finds us then I cannot preserve the safety of my human, and if Frank gets hurt or even killed, then I will find no purpose in saving the girl."

"Are you listening to yourself?" Frank whirled around on him in a surge of heated anger. "How could you say something like that?"

Gerard squared his jaw, tearing his gaze away from Frank. "My task in life is to protect you. If I we are going to rescue Jamia, if she's even alive at all, then what would be the point if her best friend isn't there to console her and explain?"

"Then you'll be saving an innocent woman from an evil bitch and her colony of slaves, god dammit." Frank snapped firmly crossing his arms over his chest and watching Gerard's eyes flare with anger.

"Enough from you two," Mina rose form her seat, moving quick to stand in between the feuding pair glaring at each with different levels of frustration set in their minds. "There is no room for arguing when there is possibly someone's life at stake here. We don't know if Lindsey still has Jamia, we aren't even sure why she would keep her or if she is alive at all, but we need to find out. As Frank said, Gerard, even if he or one of us gets hurt, then we need to save that woman before Lindsey does something truly cruel."

Frank locked his gaze with his vampire, feeling nothing but anger stirring underneath his flushed skin until he saw something inside the gaze of the man staring at him through his long eyelashes. A spark of fear--not the nature of fear where it was something that could simply be shaken, but haunting fear whispering inside of his mind, slithering into his green irises and putting on show the things causing him to act out of instinctual anger firsthand. Frank melted slightly then, feeling some of the heated anger in his gut begin to cool.

"If I lose Frank, neither one of you will be forgiven." Gerard darted out of his seat, sharply turning the corner and storming towards the inside of the house before disappearing a smudge of black and glistening white from how the sunshine bounced off of his porcelain white skin.

"A man who is afraid will always speak from anger." Aura said softly. Frank slowly turned to look at her, expecting to see her green eyes, but her lids were covering them as she slowly laid back in her seat to allow the sun's beams to fall over her face. "Fear is a weakness among men. Anger displays strength."

"They don't speak from anger to display strength," Mina slowly shook her head, sighing softly in disappointment. "Anger is their defense."

"How can he be so selfish?" Frank whispered. "I know he wants me to be safe, but he can't completely disregard Jamia like her life doesn't matter as much as mine does."

"The man cares for you so, Frank." Mina squeezed his hand softly. "He doesn't mean what he says now. He only sees things one way. Perhaps he cares for you more than either one of you realizes."

Frank was unaware of the meaning of her words when they slipped past his weakened body and dissolved in the air around him. His eyes were glued to the entrance Gerard had stormed through, still slightly open and awaiting for him to enter as well. His vampire wouldn't be returning, Frank was certain of that, so he found his legs moving on his own accord towards the manor to find Gerard and offer whatever little consoling he could to a man in distress.

Frank was gone, but Mina and Aura remained outdoors, sitting beside each other and soaking in the sunlight in silence until Aura spoke up with slight amusement in her voice.

"Do you see what I see between them?" Aura opened her eyes, gaze fluttering over Mina's relaxed composure.

"Everyone does. Everyone except for them."


	14. Slow Realizations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Frank and Gerard address this mysterious emotion they feel and an unexpected guest arriving stops them from finally finding a name for it.

The challenge of finding where Gerard had run off to was cut short when Frank passed by Laila as he paced through the halls. The vampire stopped him briefly to tell him Gerard had stormed off into his own chambers with the door swinging shut behind him, but the clicking of the lock was an absent noise amongst all the others of a man making a scene not of strictly anger, but distress evident in the energy exuding from his stance, as Laila had said so. Frank thanked her for the guidance and continued past the steps, down the hall, standing in front of the door serving as a division between himself and Gerard.

Frank bit his lip in hesitation. The last thing he wanted was to argue with Gerard about the same thing, the tender subject of his safety and the lengths Gerard would go to in order to preserve it as smoothly as possible. Frank couldn't deny that, despite the kindness imbedded into the eyes of his vampire, the worst part of him was his selfishness, the need to keep Frank all to himself in order to assure he was safe without putting thought into the things that may have been running through Frank's mind. Frank understood his point of view, and he wanted nothing more but to prevent his vampire from feeling another agonizing experience of loss, but there were some things Frank wasn't willing to allow slip away just for the reassurance of a man he'd truly known for far less time than the other person whose life may have been at stake.

Frank pulled in a deep breath before he laid his hand over the cool brass of the doorknob. Twisting it slowly, he listened to the click of the door opening before he pushed it open and peered inside. At first glance, Frank could tell the glow inside the room was artificial, no lively beams of sunshine seeped through the windows and onto the hard wooden floors that creaked as the man inside paced slowly through the bedroom. The curtains were deep red and thick velvet as they draped over the windows and fell to the ground, like a grand red curtain as a theatre from long ago. The room different from Frank's, being bathed in the gothic shades of elegant plum and blood red, the sheets and the pillows mounted onto a bed fit for a king as it stood on golden frames and bedposts. Candles smelling of fresh pine and sweet apples spread their scent through the air, adding to the golden pouring over the dark walls and flooring from the lamp perched on a wide desk.

Inside was Gerard. Agitated, distressed, clenching his pale fist around an object Frank couldn't decipher what it was until he peered closer and realized what was hanging from his wrist was a string of crystal beads leading down to a small, golden cross-- a rosary wrapped around Gerard's wrist, clenched in his hand, and swinging back and forth like a pendulum in tune with each of his movements. Frank wasn't shocked that the vampire held the ability to hold a holy accessory in his hands, but surprised by its appearance at his arm when he'd never seen such a thing even draped around Gerard's neck. Frank was under the impression that vampires didn't harbor much faith within them when their kind seemed exiled as evil, but now as he puzzled over the rosary's ownership in the pale hands of Gerard, he could easily imagine Gerard having at least a single shred of faith left within him that had him grabbing onto a string of holy beads and clouding his mind with thoughts going unknown to Frank. He wasn't praying, however, and this was clear enough in the way he paced.

"That was quite a scene you made out there." Frank said to announce his presence. He stepped through the door, pushing it behind him until it swung shut with a gentle click.

Gerard's pacing didn't halt, but slowed, his eyes darting over to Frank once and falling back down to the rosary in his hand. "I wasn't putting on any show as you may think I was."

Frank sighed. Looking at Gerard, anxiousness was creeping up the knobs and contours of his spine, sensing the negatively coursing through the air like a hot current of energy sparking into Frank's flesh and zapping his very core. The creaking of the floorboards did nothing to ease the atmosphere and Frank couldn't take watching Gerard walk back and forth at a slowly increasing speed that started to blur his form in a sea of black and white smudges alongside the winking light of the room's glow flashing over the crystal beads in Gerard's hand.

"Stop." Frank marched over to where Gerard was pacing. He reached into the streak of color and found himself grasping Gerard's wrist, feeling the circular crystals of the rosary digging into his palm. His vampire froze, eyes now staring down at where Frank grasped his wrist and the rosary tied around it. Now that he stopped, the growing anxiousness gnawing at his insides ceased, and all he was left to think of was the press of his hand touching a delicate wrist and a holy necklace. Frank looked down at the string of beads that continued to sway even after Gerard stopped rushing back and forth, clicking together with the softest noise that felt sacred gracing Frank's ears.

"You're supposed to use these in prayer." Frank said softly, shifting his hand to rub his thumb delicately around one of the rounded crystals, feeling all of the faucets cut into the shape. "To pray by the rosary, or to hold them when you're talking to God. My mother was very religious. She used to make me pray with her every night with one of these. Mine was similar, but the crystals were smaller, and the cross was silver." He remembered being a child beside his mother at night, on his knees beside the bed with a rosary clasped in his hands that were pressed palm to palm. His mother led him through prayer, taught him how to count through each of the beads, and they would take a moment of silence to pray for their own personal wishes while rubbing their thumbs delicately over the crystals and the cross. Frank never touched the cross much, feeling it was too intimate to pray to, and he only ever did when he asked for peace in his household as his parents bickered daily. Those specific prayers weren't answered and he supposed it wasn't written in destiny for their marriage to last. He couldn't find it in himself to be entirely bitter at the silence he received on that part when he noticed things seemed to be put at ease after they split.

"I prayed for peace, for my parents to be happy with each other, and that I would get out of that house one day to live my life the way I wanted to. It didn't work, obviously, I think God put me down softly so I could see that the divorce was for the best in the end." Frank whispered.

Gerard, he was gazing at Frank like he was reciting lines from the bible itself. Such an intense look made Frank's stomach flip in a violent manner, and touching the rosary while gazing back felt like an ill-mannered thing to be doing. He slowly withdrew his hand, fixing his gaze on the dangling cross instead.

"What are you using it for?" Frank asked him to point the attention away from himself.

Gerard slowly unwrapped the rosary from his pale wrist to gather it in his palm, flipping his hand over and facing it upwards so Frank could see the abundance of glittering crystal and gold shimmering in the cradle of his hand. "If I believe anything in this wretched world, it's that my love is an angel watching down onto the earth from the heavens. I called to her tonight to aid me in making a choice."

Frank looked up at Gerard through his eyelashes. His vampire was staring down at the rosary, almost with accusing eyes, and Frank knew that the spirit of Charlotte Ann Iero hadn't been delivered to him through the power of prayer. It was a delicacy he used incorrectly.

"That isn't how you summon angels." Frank said softly. "They come to you when they feel you need guidance."

Gerard's eyes snapped up, appalled. "As if I don't need guidance at this very moment?"

"What are you asking her to do for you?" Frank tried to keep the vampire as calm as possible to avoid another argument. To maintain that sort of atmosphere, he struggled to keep his tone smooth, voice low, but the turmoil inside was urging him to demand what was the matter with Gerard.

Gerard calmed down a bit and sank down on the edge of the large bed in the room with a sigh. He caressed the rosary, lifting it to his lips and shutting his eyes with ancient pain visible that made Frank's insides quiver with sympathy.

"To tell me what I need to do." Gerard whispered, kissing the beads and pulling them away from his mouth. "I must know if I should risk everything and take you to see if Jamia is truly alive, or if I should keep you here where nothing can ever hurt you again."

As Frank suspected, Gerard struggled between two opposite answers that shouldn't have been a battle to him in the first place. Frank was still wounded by Gerard being so careless over the matters at which Jamia's life may have been in danger if she was still breathing, but a part of his heart melted into a puddle dripping into the inner corners of his stomach as he felt the protective nature of Gerard's affection coming to envelope him. Frank knew he couldn't remain hidden away forever, there was an undeniable piece of him that longed to stay tucked under the shadow of his vampire.

"I don't think that's your decision to make." Frank stepped towards him slowly. "Or for anyone to make. There's no other option for me, Gerard. If there's a possibility that she's still alive, that I can save her, then of course I'm going to take a chance even if it means I'll get hurt."

"What does that mean for the ones who care for you? Have you put thought into how it would make them feel?" Gerard's wide eyes flickered up and captured Frank's stare, holding it steady, the pupil in the center pulsing like the drumming beat of a heart.

"What you don't understand is that Jamia is what I am to you. You're too occupied worrying about how you'll feel if anyone manages to get their hands on me." Frank touched the rosary inside of Gerard's hand, brushing over a small section of his vampire's hand until he slowly unfurled it and Frank gently grasped the beads to take the rosary into his own hands. "My best friend who is nothing but innocent in all of this. It's my fault that she might either be dead or held captive by a psychotic woman out for our throats."

Gerard chuckled dryly at the words Frank chose as he spoke. Frank found no humor in any of it, rolling the crystals from the rosary between his fingers until they warmed up after they'd been turned cold by the icy touch of Gerard's hands.

"It is far more complicated than you would ever believe, my sweet." Gerard sighed, hanging his head in between his hands. The strands of his midnight black hair slid so easily in between his fingers, like streamers of delicate silk gliding in between the cracks. Frank was, for a moment, puzzled by what Gerard meant, and a spark of irritation flushed into him.

"You always talk to me in riddles." Frank huffed, causing his vampire to look up at him in surprise from the bitterness in his tone. "Everything is always too complicated for me to understand, it makes me feel inferior to you and your kind. Well, maybe I am in the food chain part of it, but you and I both know that I've handled all of this far better than you have." Frank tossed the rosary onto the bed beside Gerard as the frustration being hidden at the back of his throat flooded out before he could help himself. He was finished with being clueless, with being treated like a fragile little thing who couldn't handle any of the chaos spinning them around in a daze when he'd broken down much less than Gerard had.

"I only keep you in the dark because I hate what all of this has done to you in such a brief time. I detest tainting you further and further with knowledge. The reason why our nature is kept a secret is because of the affect it may have on mankind if they knew about our existence." Gerard took the rosary into his shaky hands.

"It may hurt, it may be dangerous, but what you don't understand is that I'm prepared for that. I won't break instantly. I can't stay ignorant at this point, I can't." Frank was edging towards defeat. He sighed deeply, wondering if his words were even beginning to sway Gerard in order for him to see his point through his close-minded thoughts. He looked towards the vampire to find he'd fallen silent. He refused to meet Frank's gaze, almost pained from avoiding it, but at the very least, he seemed thoughtful.

Fixing the string of beads in his hands, Gerard carefully stood up until he was only a seldom few inches away from Frank, coming so close until the human out of the pair had to choke back a gasp from the strong presence and charge in the air between them when they stood as close as this. Looking into the hypnotizing eyes of his vampire, Frank found himself at a loss for words as the rosary was lifted over his head, slowly being lowered until Gerard placed it around his neck and let the string hang down his chest. Gently, Gerard's lips parted as he prepared to speak again, and his fingers brushed against Frank's neck as he began to tuck his chestnut colored hair away from under the necklace.

"If only I could provide you the enchanting safety that this rosary has given me through all of these years," Gerard's eyes glossed over with crystalline tenderness as he gazed down at Frank. "Then I would never need to fear that I am failing at my task."

Frank's skin prickled with the energy flowing all around them, lacing into his skin and forcing goosebumps to rise to the surface of his body as the chilling feeling of Gerard's fingertips so briefly ghosting over his neck traveled under the layers of his flesh and into the molten lava of his core. The warmth inside him could only increase with Gerard standing this close, so frustrating in its alien nature, and Frank couldn't decipher the emotions he was feeling as Gerard's fingers smoothly glided over the patch of his skin just above where the rosary rested. His touch felt more holy than the necklace ever could.

"This is yours." Frank protested weakly through the sudden haze of clouds filling up his head. He touched the cross, but his hand couldn't move any further than that when he witnessed the breathtaking, tiny smile rising to Gerard's lips so close to his own face. The tips of his fangs barely peeked out from between them, the sight making Frank's heart race.

"It was hers." Gerard whispered, and touched the beads as if it was a piece of the woman he loved. Indeed it was, his eyes shone like two faded emeralds hidden in a landscape of ruin when he looked at it. "She gave it to me before she left to be wed to her arranged husband. I've kept it with me ever since, I speak to her through it. She never replies or even shows her presence, but I whisper to the rosary and hope my words are traveling to her where she rests in heaven."

It was intimate, _sacred_ , to have such a valuable possession around Frank's neck. He almost felt like it should have been a great offense to be wearing it, but the kiss of the crystal beads didn't burn his skin as it may have if the rosary was a preserved piece of the past. His heart swelled greatly to have it strung around his neck, after Gerard placed it there with hands gentle as white doves carrying the crystals over to him. He felt the grooves of the cross as his fingertips pressed against it, the cool gold quickly warming under his grip.

"I'll protect it." Frank wrapped his hand around it and swallowed down the emotion coursing through his very own blood. He wondered if Gerard could smell the strange sensation, if he knew the name of it, because Gerard's pupils widened in his eyes as he gazed down at him, his lips twitching, and his hand captured Frank's wrist to rub his thumb slowly over the veins showing blue through the thin skin there.

"No, it's there to protect you. If I can't, then . . . she will."

Frank looked up in astonishment, lips parting. "Are you saying--that you'll let me find Jamia?"

Gerard's eyes were deep pools of fear trembling in the midst of an unidentifiable emotion coming to shine at the center of them like clear ripples, but aside from the fear eating away at the shine inside of his eyes, he nodded. "I only want your happiness. She is your happiness."

Frank was unaware of what was coming over him, but whatever possessed him caused his hands to lift up, so astounding sure and steady in their movements, and rested against Gerard's face so sweetly, almost identical to the way his vampire touched him. Gerard's eyes widened, his posture becoming rigid for a moment until Frank stroked his thumbs over the porcelain and soft skin over the gentle curve of his jaw. His vampire quickly melted under his hands, lips parting from the delicate touch to his face.

"You're part of my happiness, too, Gerard." Frank whispered, eyes tracing each of his features. "Plenty of horrible things have been going on, but you've kept me sane through it. I love how you care so much. It may cloud your judgement a lot, and sometimes it makes me angry, but no one I've met has had a heart as big as yours."

"My sweet human." Gerard laced his fingers through Frank's and slowly tugged his hands away from his face. Frank hated the loss of contact more than he should have when his heart was overflowing with affection for his vampire across from him, while only moments ago, he felt bitterness towards him. He was placed under a spell whenever he was so near to his vampire.

"I cherish your life and your sweetness, but I fear something much greater may overcome me if you continue to look at me in such a way with those words you speak." Gerard shut his eyes tightly and pulled his hands away from where his fingers had been locked with Frank's. He moved away quickly from Frank, leaving him dazed and confused, until he suddenly snapped out of the haze of something so strangely intimate that he felt cold and empty now that it passed.

Frank touched his throat and felt the blood rapidly rushing underneath it due to his racing heart. Gerard was sitting on the far side of the bed, hand over his chest, assuring that his hair curtained around his face so Frank couldn't read his expression. Had Frank's blood caused Gerard's lust for the substance to awaken? He knew he must have smelled sweet after hearing he shared the same unique blood of the woman Gerard fell in love with long ago, but he didn't think Gerard would be wavering in his control over it after so many years had passed.

"Is it my blood?" Frank asked. HIs voice was hushed from the insecurity rising within him. He couldn't conceal his own scent, not when the heightened senses of vampires were created to capture the essence of blood to hunt it down.

Gerard turned to look at him, almost offended by his question. "No, Frank, I've lived many years and have learned to control my thirst for blood until it is time for me to feed. How do you think I endure seven years of not feeding at all?"

Frank reeled back slightly from the sharpness of his tone and immediately, the vampire was ridden with guilt. Gerard bit his lip, rising from his seat and approaching Frank to cradle the side of his face with care. His eyes shone with millions of apologies.

"I apologize," He whispered. "But you must trust me when I say that this is truly something you cannot understand, because I don't understand it myself."

Frank fought not to nuzzle his cheek into the comforting, cool touch his vampire provided him. His skin was silk against Frank's cheek, and he lost his battle of not leaning into it the second a gentle thumb stroked his flesh which heated under his touch. He took Gerard's words with care and thought he recognized them, unknowing of the reason why. He soon realized it was due to similar thoughts he experienced, feelings, tying together to leave him confused when it snapped away from him the second he parted from his vampire's side. It was tethered to Gerard, his soft words and touch, his fragileness underneath the strong front he place in the open to appear strong as possible. Frank knew that soul inside of him was gentler than any other kind, feeling and beautiful. "Does it feel like you're tipping back into space?"

Gerard's eyes flashed in surprise, a gleam of another emotion disappearing too quick to capture. "Sometimes."

"Me too." Frank's lips spelled out the words without a voice to make a shape out of them. Gerard read his lips, recognition falling over his features, and he slowly withdrew his hand from Frank's cheek. His breath caught watching his vampire's olive green eyes remaining trained onto his lips even after he was finished speaking. He was suddenly coming closer, his eyes not breaking their focus from Frank's mouth. Frank's inner muscles clenched with shock while watching the space in between them closing, but the current between them was falling around him so nicely that he found himself coming closer too, raising his hands up to curl his fingers into the silk of Gerard's hair. Gerard's hands rested in his waist with a hesitant grip, the shadow of his long lashes entrancing Frank just as the shape of his lips did, but only one of the two drew him in until his nose brushed against Gerard's, his fingers gripping his silky hair.

Breaking them apart was the sharp cry coming from Mina downstairs, and shout of Gerard's name that had the pair springing apart in alarm. Their gazes shot towards the door, then back at each other, and fear quickly crept into Frank's blood.

Stiff and alarmed, Gerard took Frank into his arms carefully, lifting him off of his feet and pressing him against his chest to use the quickness of his legs to glide them away from the room and downstairs where the root of the noise had come from. Frank was dizzy from the flying of colors before his eyes and hadn't even realized he was being set down at the foot of the staircase until cold, strong winds soaring in through the swung open front entrance of the manor claimed all of his attention. Locks of his hair interrupted his vision, but Frank could see Mina, Marius, and Aura lined up in front of something that Gerard was slowly approaching.

Frank trembled at both the cold and the fear mixing into his blood, pushing it roughly through each of his veins, and his heartbeat seemed to give away his fear. Aura turned to look at him, her eyes wide and lips parted, as if she'd experienced something that shocked her into silence. She glided over to him in a quick stride, taking his arm as Frank started to move forward.

"You shouldn't be down here, Frank, this is something Gerard must take into his own hands." Aura insisted brusquely, gently tugging him towards the stairs.

"I want to know what's going on." Frank yanked his arm away from her gently, his eyes glued to Gerard who kneeled down on the ground frantically, and Frank could see human limbs sticking out from behind the man's figure. Alarm quickly bubbled and tugged his insides with an unpleasant shock.

"Frank, I assure you, you must keep your distance." Aura pleaded.

"I'm sick of being kept in the shadows while watching everything fall apart." Frank snapped at her, stunning the beautiful vampire. "Please, let me see."

Aura couldn't fight after what he'd told her. She returned to her place beside Marius who wearily stood by the scene, stepping forward to crouch down at the person's feet with concern etched into each of his features. Mina had her fist pressed against to her mouth and her brows were arched over her eyes in deep worry, and Aura stood back cautiously, unsure of what to do. Frank hesitantly made his way over to the scene, pressing his clammy palms against his shirt to wipe them down. He crept closer and closer until he could see Gerard was, in fact, hovering over the stranger, his arm held out above them in the strangest position.

Frank looked over Gerard's shoulder hesitantly, hands shaking at his sides. Powerful shock bloomed in the center of his chest when he drank in the sight before him, spreading to his very fingertips and resonating there. He wasn't sure if he should be afraid, but for now, he was situated in a moment of shock while watching Gerard's wrist hovering above someone's parted lips, allowing blood to seep past them in a stream until the person suddenly lunged into a sitting position and eagerly sunk their fangs into Gerard's wrist. His vampire groaned, but allowed it to happen, supporting the back of their head and barely sparing an apologetic glance to Frank.

Michael sat underneath Gerard's crouching form, pale as a sheet with the appearance of a fresh corpse, up until color slowly began to rush through his face as he hungrily consumed the blood from the wrist held out to him.

"Gerard, what the fuck is happening?" Frank shot upright, watching blood spill from the corners of Mikey's mouth.

"I don't know, but whatever happened, he has bite marks on his neck and both of his wrists." Gerard grunted as his blood continued to be drawn out of him "The scent of Lindsey is incredibly overwhelming. She must have done this."

"What should I do?" Mina touched her forehead in a sign of distress.

"Blankets, a fire, everything warm. He's cold as ice." Gerard's lashes were beginning to flutter, his posture becoming a tad more flaccid as the seconds passed, and Frank was filled with alarm as he slowly realized he was allowing his brother to drink too much, and if he continued to feed the starving vampire any longer, he would be drained. Mina and Aura rushed off to gather the materials requested.

"That is enough out of you." Marius gripped Gerard's shoulder tightly in a warning.

"He is my brother, he can have all he needs." Gerard's voice was strained and gravely.

"Unless you want to switch places with him in front of your human, than I suggest you allow me to give him some of my own blood." Marius looked him in the eye, seriousness echoing from his expression and transferring into the mind of Gerard. Gerard looked back for a solid moment, his chest beginning to heave, until he growled softly low in his throat and pulled his wrist away from Michael's mouth.

Gerard's brother gasped, licking away the blood from his lips as he slowly opened his eyes, but he was incredibly dazed. Marius dug his fangs into his own wrist and slid them across the skin to slash it open, a sight that made Frank cringe. He turned all of his attention to Gerard instead, the man who was controlling the dizziness spinning around him with his palms laid flat against the ground.

"Come on, Gerard, you've gotta stand." Frank crouched down beside him, gently taking a hold of Gerard's bitten wrist and wiping the mess of blood away from it. He watched in amazement as the wound slowly began to close, his skin threading together to heal, leaving nothing but a clean slate of porcelain white flesh stained crimson.

Gerard cracked his eyes open and stared at him, saddened and anxious all the same. Frank wrapped his arms around his vampire, helping him to his feet, and supported him when he swayed slightly. He guided Gerard and pressed him into his side to support most of his weight, uncaring over how it made him struggle a bit.

"Why would you give him so much when he's done nothing but hurt you?" Frank whispered only to him, slowly walking him towards the main room where the girls were bustling around to prepare for their unexpected guest.

"Through it all, he is still my brother." Gerard leaned into Frank, nose nudging his jaw without an intention, but it still made Frank flush. "And I have hope that tonight, after what she's done, things will finally change."

"A dreamer is what you are." Frank led Gerard to the couch and flashed a strained, reassuring smile to Mina who paused in all of her movements and gasped at the state of Gerard. His vampire managed to sink down into a sitting position on his own. Before Frank could pull away, he took Frank's hands into his own, his touch colder than it had ever been before.

"Stay here with me." Gerard gazed up at him through eyes half-way shut, the sliver of his stare that showed glistening with a need for something Frank could easily provide with just his presence.

"I wasn't going to leave." Frank gently squeezed his hands.

Gerard smiled weakly, grateful for Frank's willingness to accompany him in his state. His thumbs slowly circled over Frank's skin and Frank thought he imagined him frown when he pulled his hands away from his vampire's grip to make his next movements.

"You care too much about other people, and look where it's gotten you." Frank brought his face close as he was overcome with something so incredibly warm for his vampire, and he watched in mild surprise that quickly faded as his hand rose to brush against Gerard's forehead, pushing a lock of his hair away from his face. Gerard's eyes fluttered, leaning into the warmth of his touch contrasting with his cold skin. Frank chuckled, his fingers grazing the side of his face. He sank down in the space beside Gerard after the movement.

"It's the only thing I can do to make up for not letting my love save the person who mattered the most." Gerard whispered, before leaning his head onto Frank's shoulder and drifting into something similar to sleep, leaving the human with an aching heart at his words.


	15. One Bite

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "When will the blood begin to race, the sleeping bud burst into bloom? When will the flames at last consume us? Past the point of no return." - The Phantom of the Opera

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took a while! It's been busy, but I think this is worth the wait.

"He's resting in one of the rooms upstairs now, it seems he is slowly regaining more and more energy as the minutes passed after he was given blood." Mina informed both Gerard and Frank where they sat on the couch.

Gerard was paler than before, no color rising to flush his delicately curved lips, but he managed to stay conscious despite a wide portion of his own blood being consumed by his nearly dead brother. He looked up at Mina through his lashes, nodded, and sighed.

"I need to see him." Gerard stated.

"Gerard, I . . . I think you should feed, or something, before you do anything." Frank was incredibly concerned over Gerard's current state and unsure if feeding from a human or a vampire's healing blood would help him regain all of his energy.

"He's right, Gerard." Mina chewed on her lip with concern falling over her face. "I could bring a human to you if I must."

"I don't care for blood, I care for my brother appearing at the front door nearly dead and reeking of our current enemy." Gerard spoke sharply with the remaining strength within him, cutting through the hesitation growing thick in the atmosphere. Frank winced slightly from the tone he took and he shared a glance with Mina. Both of them came to an understanding that Gerard wasn't going to budge until he stood by his brother's side.

"I'll lead you to him." Mina sighed after giving up on attempting to get Gerard to take care of himself as well. Aside from the weakness obviously paling Gerard's lips and making his body flaccid against the couch, his eyes sparkled at the news and he began to gather himself to follow Mina. Frank rose from the couch as well, but Gerard's gentle hand stopped him.

"I think you should stay down here." Gerard softly told Frank, unease apparent in the way he moved his lips and batted his eyelashes together.

Frank looked up at the vampire in pure disbelief. "After I told you I don't want to be treated as inferior to you anymore?"

HIs vampire winced delicately, apologies swimming in the hypnotizing eyes speaking words to Frank that he couldn't express verbally. "It isn't that I think you should be kept in the dark. Michael may be weakened, but he is a danger to you. I don't trust him to be near you."

"I agree with him, Frank, Michael could strike you in an instant. He lacks the human blood he needs." Mina piped in, seemingly guilty as she wrung her hands together and tucked her bottom lip between her teeth.

Frank was at least relieved that the reason why he was being left behind was not to withhold him from any important news he would certainly be asking for once the meeting was over. Some part of him feared the vampire regenerating upstairs, the one who had once been so cruel to find joy in watching his brother being beaten by Lindsey in her violent rampage.

"I don't want him to hurt you." Frank whispered to Gerard. He couldn't bear the image of weakened Gerard being tricked and attacked by his brother, unwilling to allow any bit of blood to be shed from Gerard's body out of anger of a man who held hatred for events spun completely out of his control many years ago.

"I adore your concern, but I will return unscathed, I promise." Gerard reached out to touch his icy fingers to Frank's cheek. In a surprising act, he replaced the cool kiss of his fingertips with his lips instead, causing a blush to rise under his skin and bloom across his face from the unexpected act of affection.

He was left breathless when Gerard disintegrated from his view, the touch of his lips absent from the burning cheek he'd pressed a kiss against. Frank's eyes swept over the room, finding no sign of his vampire or Mina, and he sighed deeply. Touching his tingling cheek, he slowly sank down into his seat, some concealed part of him wishing to have the touch of pretty lips back against his cheek for him to relish in the coolness soothing the burning of his blood under his face.

Frank looked up when he saw a figure entering the room from the corner of his eye. As the person approached, it became clear that it was Marius. The vampire rubbed over the wrist which Michael had fed from, and unlike Gerard, he wasn't as pale or weak as someone who fed their blood to another in dire need of it.

"Quite an afternoon, isn't it?" Marius commented, trying to make light of the chaos taking place in their home.

Frank nodded, dropping his hand away from his cheek when the tingles from Gerard's kiss dispersed. His blush was more difficult in fading away, constantly returning when he thought back to the brief moment. He shook it from his mind, pointing his thoughts towards Michael and his sudden appearance.

"What do you think happened?" Frank asked, watching the vampire sink into the seat across from him.

Marius sighed, rubbing his hand over his lips and looking down at the ground with calculated deep blue eyes. "Regarding the scent and the marks, a vampire drained him nearly to his last drop of blood, and somehow, he managed to make his way to us."

"Lindsey." There was no other solution when her scent clung to Gerard's brother as his vampire had stated. A turn of events must have taken place if Lindsey unleashed her evil on a vampire who took her side while Frank stayed there and he couldn't imagine what Michael must have done to make her weaken him to near death. If she wanted some sort of revenge or punishment for him, she would have killed him.

"Whatever her motive was, it made her want to keep him on the brink of death to make him suffer. A vampire's bite is much more painful to another vampire than it is to a human." Marius scrunched his brows as he turned the idea over inside his mind.

"Why is it more painful?"

Marius' eyes flickered up to meet Frank's questioning gaze. "It isn't natural to feed off of one another. We only share blood during intimacy and to heal, not to drink. It's the same thing as cannibalism amongst the human race. Our skin is so sensitive, it's almost unbearable to feel the bite of fangs against it. We were made to prey off of others, not each other."

Frank's stomach flipped twice at the comparison. Cannibalism was possibly the most inhumane act in the world alongside the many mortal crimes condemning any people to hell. Thinking of it in a vampire's point of view, Lindsey's actions had reached the peak of her evil after she'd dug her fangs into the side of Michael's neck. The woman truly was a monster concealed in beautiful black clothing.

"It's sickening." Frank whispered. "I don't understand why no one has killed her yet."

"The only people surrounding Lindsey are those who stand with her." Marius sighed, slowly shaking his head. "To kill her would be to slaughter an entire coven of vampires first. It's a war none are willing to fight in."

"But what if someone brought their own coven to fight?" Frank scooted to the edge of his seat. "Lindsey and her vampires aren't invincible. She needs to be stopped or else who knows what she'll do. I wouldn't doubt that she's doing this to bring Gerard and I back."

"Killing the witch would be a great pleasure for us all, but the risk of everyone getting hurt is much too high, and war will only damage the peace amongst vampires." Marius shook his head in denial. "As much as this coven longs to put an end to Lindsey and her own kind, we cannot afford to lose each other."

The coven of London was tightly knit together in a web of ties Frank hadn't seen before. Lovers, remaining blood relatives, friendships strong enough for adoration to build up so high that the pain of one or the other being killed would be a pain strong enough to overtake the sanity of the remaining vampire. A family, keeping each other safe in a home resembling a castle, attempting to live normally while feeding their thirst for blood. Frank wasn't sure if he could afford losing one of them either, but with Lindsey on the loose, hell could be unleashed if no one attacked.

Trapped in a conflict, Frank tugged at his hair, leaning his elbows on his knees. "Gerard says the same, but he's so persistent on protecting me. He told me he'll allow me to save my friend who's possibly alive and being held captive by Lindsey, but I don't think he'll let me when it comes down to it."

Marius eyes twinkled with amusement poorly concealed, and he smiled at Frank. "He loves you. Of course he would do anything to prevent you from intervening with harm."

Frank's insides stilled. He wasn't sure what kind of love Marius was implying, or if he should even consider a type of love different from the bond of friendship. His memory flickered back to the moment they shared in Gerard's room only moments ago, the closeness of their bodies falling in towards each other, and their eyes zoning in on each other's lips. Frank, deep down, knew he wanted their lips to connect. It felt almost sinful to think or consider such things.

"What kind of love?" Frank found himself uttering without thinking. The question came alive within him and slid into the creases between his bones, growing warmer and warmer with urgency. His heart fluttered like the leaves of a weeping willow fluttering in the cool winter breeze.

"Ah, that is something for you to figure out for yourselves, human." Marius stood up from his set with a handsome grin. "Although, I must say, you would make a wonderful mate for Gerard."

Heat blazed in Frank's face at the comments and his hands squeezed his knees, unsure of how to comment or react to something so boldly stated. In these past hours, Frank was conflicted with his attraction, feeling an unknown pull towards Gerard that he could have been confusing with gravitational lust. Now, coming to terms with what he felt, he trembled inside knowing that the growing warmth inside him at the mere thought of his beautiful vampire was overcoming him, digging deep into every cell and nerve until it became part of his being as a whole.

"Don't fear love." Marius consoled him softly. "Fear never having the chance to experience it."

The vampire vanished before Frank could open his mouth to deny the existence of love inside of him. Somehow, even after the vampire disappeared, Frank felt the denial being caught in his throat to his astonishment. The conscious voice at the back of his head told him his body wasn't allowing him to tell lies to himself, but he shook the thoughts from his head, thinking Marius had somehow planted ideas into his mind that would lead to him imagining the impossible. He didn't need to stop himself from fearing love because he simply wasn't in it, no part of him had come to a startling realization other than the fact that his attraction to Gerard was causing something inside of him to break into a frenzy. Not love, and he was certain many people felt attraction towards his vampire when he was one of the most beautiful of his kind.

Frank didn't know what love felt like, the idea of budding romance coming forth and lightening the heart of whoever it touched. He assumed he would identify it as soon as it bloomed in his chest as it was so foreign and claiming, knowing how it differed greatly from affection. Frank refused to become a cliché damsel who fell into the arms of a stunning vampire at first sight. Not when, pushing aside the reassurance, he was afraid that Gerard would only ever love him in such an intense manner because he saw who he once gave his heart to every time he looked into Frank's inherited eyes. Her blood, pumping through his veins and spilling into the sore heart of his so close to breaking, was identifiable to the nose of his vampire, a scent he'd come to fall in love with when it belonged to a beautiful maiden ripped out of his hands so cruelly.

Frank hated how deeply it wounded him to think of the possibility that Gerard only cared for him because of his blood, his eyes and his similarities to the woman he couldn't save. It only made it so much more difficult to deny the spreading warmth starting in the pit of his stomach whenever Gerard spared him so much as a measly glance, how his hands trembled and his breath stuck in his throat when Gerard stood close enough to touch. He shouldn't have been thinking about how Gerard was close enough to caress any inch of Frank's, but rather how he was close enough to sink his fangs into the tender skin of Frank's throat.

Frank walked away from the scene where he'd gotten all of his rational thoughts tangled up after Marius brought up the ill-mannered nature of love. It was only ill-mannered to Frank when so many fears lined the possibility of the emotion taking the vampire and the human by storm, a mixture that would endanger the fragility of Frank's heart if anything should happen. He knew, deep inside his very soul, that if he should love Gerard, it would be as deeply as the water of the ocean plunged into the earth. It left him afraid to fall, unknowing of when he would collide with the ground and end up broken, drowning inside the saltwater as his lungs panicked for oxygen. He began to feel sick to his stomach thinking of the impossible, but light at heart envisioning the scenario now becoming something that was very possible if no one had interrupted them earlier. He was guilty to enjoy the image graining into his mind, one where his lips were being gently led by Gerard's until not a single breath of his came out evenly.

Attempting to clear his mind, Frank tugged a lock of his hair out of frustration while walking up the steps towards the hallway holding his chambers, and on his way down the long stretch of the velvet carpeted hall, he ran into the one being he sorely tried to shake from his head.

Gerard stepped out of his own chambers, shutting the door behind him and lingering for a moment. Frank froze up at the end of the hallway, all of his insides seizing their liveliness and his chest clenched. Everything inside him suddenly felt robotic up until he noticed the lines of distress wrinkling Gerard's forehead, watching how he stood at the door for a moment until he shut his eyes and leaned his head against it.

"Gerard?" Frank's heard his own voice calling out to his vampire, filled with quiet hesitation and making itself known without his mind's permission. It was only instinct to worry about the state of Gerard looking so unwell while leaning against the door of the room Michael must have been in.

His vampire turned to see Frank standing close to the end of the hall. Immediately, the lines creasing his forehead smoothed over into the familiar slate of smooth pale skin and his lips parted like he hadn't expected to see Frank there. It was rare that his mind was so occupied that he wouldn't be able to sense Frank's presence from any distance away.

"I was about to go and get you." Gerard cleared his throat quietly.

Frank stepped further into the hall, previous worries and thoughts put aside. "Did something happen? How is he?"

"Michael's fine, Mina went out to fetch him a human so he can fully regain his strength." Gerard said it all in one breath, waving it off with his hand. "Healing is the least of our worries when vampires regenerate so quickly. It's the matter of _how_ he was brought to this state that fucks up my mind."

Frank blinked in surprised at the swear word flying so smoothly past Gerard's lips. He was made of elegance, his entire being the embodiment of frayed silk draped off of a marble carving painful to look at in its beauty. Something serious was at stake for him to break the grace he adopted.

"What happened?" Frank breathed.

Gerard glanced at Frank once and spun around on his heels. Approaching Frank's bedroom, he opened the creaky door, entering the chambers without another word. Frank knew he expected him to follow, and he did, looking over his shoulder once down the empty hallway before entering the room and shutting it softly behind him.

Gerard sank down at the foot of Frank's bed on shaky legs. He was weakened even if he didn't allow himself to show it, but Frank chose not to make any sort of comment until Gerard shared what he'd been told. He took a seat beside him, looking over at him and patiently waiting.

Gerard discreetly ran his tongue over his pale lips. "As I suspected, Lindsey did this to him. She drained him slowly, a form of torture. A vampire only has venom inside the linings of their veins, no real blood, which is why we need to feed. The blood we consume becomes our own. If we neglect our thirst, the venom begins decaying our veins, and they eventually disintegrate."

Frank winced at the image, unwilling to think of the pain being delivered by it. "Why would she do that to him?"

Gerard rubbed his hand over his face, both sets of fangs peeking out from behind his lips as his agitation brought out his defensive mode. "Because he is my brother, she thought he knew where we were. She tortured him until she was done playing games and she broke inside of his mind as she did to you once, setting him free when she realized he truly knew nothing. It wasn't until after he was set free did he find the note I left behind."

"You left a note? You didn't tell me that." Frank raised his eyebrows.

Gerard nodded, grimacing. "I wrote 'London' on a small piece of paper and left it inside one of his empty bottles of liquor. In case he wanted to change his mind and find me instead of continuing to be brainwashed by Lindsey."

"She could have found it, or he could have told her." Frank rubbed the side of his neck, anxiousness fluttering about in his gut. "Thank god he chose to do what you intended him to do when he found it."

"It was a risk I was wiling to take if it meant I had a chance to save my brother from her evil." Gerard's voice wavered in ancient sadness rising to cloud over his eyes in a dark film. "He's realized her evil now. Drinking another vampire's blood is a mortal sin among our kind, a betrayal we cannot forgive. He came here as quickly as he could, and he bears news."

Frank's breath caught in his throat. A glimmer of hope touched the back of his head, tingling along his scalp as he dared to wonder if the news Michael came with was what he longed to know.

"What news?" Frank turned his body towards Gerard.

Gerard looked over him, turning his body inwards the same way Frank had until their knees brushed together, creating a bubble surrounding the two of them that felt too close for anything on the outside to break.

"Jamia is alive." Gerard breathed, breaking into a soft smile. "Lindsey has her, but she's unharmed. She's . . ."

Frank's bones were mending, his heart beating at thrice the speed. "She's what? What did Michael say?"

Gerard reached out for Frank's hands. He took both of them and gave them a soft squeeze, the iciness of his fingers making Frank shiver.

"Lindsey changed her. Jamia is linked to her, Lindsey has placed it inside her head that she saved her from grave danger. Claude attacking her was a set up to make her believe Lindsey is her savior." Gerard explained, mournfully dropping his eyes down to Frank's tattooed hands appearing tanned against the pale white skin of a vampire. "I fear she may not want to leave Lindsey's side if we try to save her."

Frank's heart sank deeply, pushing through the bones of his ribcage, sliding down his spine until he couldn't feel it anymore. As much as relief soared through him, everything fell apart the moment he realized Lindsey was manipulating her, turning her towards evil while wearing a mask of innocence to completely rip her away from Frank. Jamia was innocent and unaware of the things the woman had done, making her believe that Lindsey was a saint prying her from the jaws of a monster wanting her blood.

"What does Lindsey want from her? Why . . .?" Frank lost his words in a flurry of many questions overlapping each other in his mind.

"Michael thinks it's a trick to lure us back to her." Gerard let go of Frank's hands after revealing the news, making the human long for the touch again when his soul needed comfort. "A plan in the works, it seems, but things have taken a turn of events and we have an advantage. We must leave soon to retrieve Jamia."

Frank's throat tightened while he forced himself to swallow and he flared up in a panic. "N-no, Marius told me that in order to get to Lindsey and Jamia, we would need to go against a whole army of vampires first. I was all for it in the beginning, but now, looking at everyone here, I see how this coven is a family. If any one of them gets killed because of me wanting to get my best friend back, I wouldn't be able to live with myself."

"Marius is biased." Gerard reached out, smoothing a soothing thumb across Frank's cheekbone to calm him. "He wants to protect Aura from danger. She's beside Mina in her passion for wanting to help us find Jamia."

Frank's breath shuddered. "Then maybe Aura shouldn't go. Neither should Mina. I don't want anyone to get hurt, but I don't know what to do, Gerard. I just want Jamia to be safe from Lindsey, from all of them." He whimpered.

Gerard shushed him softly. He crooked his finger underneath Frank's chin to tilt his face up, willing his hazel eyes to lock with the swirling green of his vampire's pair of eyes. "The one thing this coven wants more than anything is to see Lindsey dead. We all need to meet to discuss it. If they are willing enough to make the sacrifice, then you needn't worry. We all have a reason to attack the Jersey coven. For justice."

He was a hypnosis without any means of putting Frank under a spell. The molten green inside of his eyes resembled lava in how it came alive, dancing around his pulsing pupils and drawing Frank further in until he slowly felt his ushering panic dying down like a flame being put out. He could feel Gerard's cold finger under his chin slowly warming from the temperature of his own skin, the heat of blood pumping through his veins. Frank knew Gerard could smell it from how close his face was. His pupils moved in alarm at the scent of Frank's blood moving about under his skin, nostrils flaring. Frank parted his lips with a soft gasp at the sight of hunger flashing in his vampire's eyes. He removed himself from under Gerard's hand at the first sign of red blooming under the green of his irises.

Gerard darted up onto his feet with apologies flooding out into the open, tugging roughly at his own hair against his hunger. Suddenly, he swayed, stumbling back, and Frank quickly stood up to ease him back onto the bed in a state of fright blended in with concern.

"Gerard, you need blood." Frank concluded, taking note of Gerard's elongated fangs scraping over his pale lips and creating shallows cuts where he hadn't been prepared for it. Gerard was breathing shallowly, attempting to get a grip on himself.

"I'll be fine, I need a moment." Gerard breathed, voice hoarse.

Frank shook his head in disbelief. "No, you're starving. Michael took so much out of you. I should find someone, tell them you need a human to--"

"Frank, I'm _fine_." Gerard insisted in a clipped tone. "I'll hunt later. Now isn't the time."

Frank bit his lip. Gerard had always been pale, but never this amount, and the tremble in his physique told Frank that Gerard wouldn't be able to hang on any longer without sinking his teeth into something, or _someone_. There wouldn't be enough time to go out and find someone suitable enough for him to feed from, this amount of deprivation would require him to feed until the person was nearly or completely unconscious from blood lust.

Frank's hands were shaking. He was suddenly so aware of the blood running through his entire being, hot and enough to quench Gerard's thirst thoroughly. He could hear the gush of it in his ears as his heart sped up, pulse pounding, and he made his decision quickly while watching Gerard wrap his arms around his midsection as pain began to enter his body.

"Drink from me." Frank quickly blurted out, the words almost unintelligible from how fast he spat them out. He screwed his eyes shut tight, clenching his fists. "You can take my blood."

Gerard gawked up at him as if Frank had proposed the most appalling idea to exist. His lips parted and put his gleaming fangs on display, making a shudder ripple down Frank's back.

"No," Gerard shook his head in refusal. "You don't realize how sacred it is to willingly give blood to a vampire, Frank, it's too intimate."

Frank scrunched his brow, his fear turning into puzzlement. "I-I thought it was painful?"

"In an attack and to kill, yes, but taking the blood from a willing human, doing it gently . . ." Gerard's eyes darkened, all of the seriousness fixing his gorgeous features intensifying their beauty until Frank ached looking at him. He licked the beads of blood away from his sliced bottom lip. "It's _sex_. Our venom can bring the greatest unknown pleasure to the human being bitten. The vampire always feels intense lust no matter the circumstances, but this exchange, it's the sole reason why we take humans as lovers before killing them."

A blush blazed hot under Frank's face. The deep, gravelly tone of Gerard's tone progressing as he explained the feeling behind the ceremonious drinking of blood affected something inside Frank he'd been trying to hide. A secret longing buried somewhere he couldn't identify, boldly presenting itself in how Frank's body flashed with heat as if his blood was trying to escape to make its way to Gerard's mouth. At the same time, he knew it was wrong. It was the closest to intimacy there was if it wasn't the epitome of it in the vampire world. Taking such a large step without even experiencing the sweetness of a kiss with each other had Frank shaking with nerves.

"But you need it." Frank whispered, torn with his decision.

"What is done between two lovers cannot be done between you and I," Gerard panted through his pain, turning the other way to conceal himself with his midnight black hair. "Not something so intimate."

Frank's palms rubbed against his jeans to rid of the glaze of sweat developing on them. He couldn't stand watching Gerard suffer, insisting he would hunt until he was nearly insane with thirst for the sake of keeping Frank gentle company. His vampire was one of the most stubborn people he'd ever met and it was exhausting at times. Now, he understood why Gerard rejected Frank's offering of blood. If sex lived inside of one bite, what would become of them when the act was finished? Meeting each other's eyes would only bring back memories, simple touches would no longer feel innocent after they held knowledge of how they felt during their exchange. Frank's stomach flipped over dozens of times while he stood there frozen and contemplating. He loved Gerard, in a way where he would call him a best friend and another half of him he'd searched for his entire life, but now, he was beginning to believe he felt something much deeper rising inside him.

Frank didn't care if things would change. He'd take Gerard's misery away from him as many times as he needed, pushing all rationalities aside and living in the present.

Frank gathered all of the courage inside him and bundled it up to make his legs work. He closed the space between him and Gerard slowly, swallowing down all of his fears to keep himself from backing down. Taking Gerard's face between his hands, he titled it back to look into his vampire's eyes flashing red with hunger. His vampire gazed back in confusion, quietly urging him to keep his distance without saying the words. He was beautiful, even in this state, and Frank knew these thoughts wouldn't come from a person who didn't love him.

"You and I have something between us that I know you can feel," Frank's voice shook, coming close to breaking if he didn't control it with an intake of breath. "This isn't just feeding off of a human you barely know. You're taking _my_ blood, and I'm giving it to you because you mean more to me than you'll ever know."

Gerard's wide eyes gazed up at Frank as if he was being hypnotized by him for the first time. His thick, curled lashes tangled together as his gaze fell down to where Frank's pulse was located, right beside the beads of the rosary hanging around his neck.

"The sexual nature of such a sin is enough to break your mind with pleasure." Gerard breathed, cool breath fanning over Frank's overheated skin. Frank shivered, knowing this would affect them greatly, but at least it wouldn't be done with unbearable pain.

Frank swallowed hard, moving his hands from Gerard's smooth face and into his hair. Carding his fingers through the silken locks, he moved under Gerard's hungry gaze. He stood in between Gerard's legs, struggling to keep his breathing even, and drew Gerard towards him in the position of an embrace. Only, he was tilting his head to the side, leaving the side of his neck exposed to his vampire, gently leading Gerard to the thrumming main vein filtering his blood through his body.

He felt fear. He wouldn't be normal if he wasn't afraid of what was about to come, jumping at the soft rumble of a growl vibrated in Gerard's throat under the pressure of the temptation. Above all things, he hated that he craved this. The closeness, the lips at his neck, the feeling of Gerard giving into him. His eyes fell shut, eyes filling with bizarre tears and their unknown reason. He curled his fingers into Gerard's black hair, kissing the side of his head, holding his breath as Gerard's arms suddenly appeared around him in a grip pulling him close to his chest so they were touching and he was practically seated on his vampire's lap.

"And you're sure of this, my sweet?" Gerard curled his fingers into Frank's shirt, an act of restraint until he was given full consent.

"I'm sure." Frank nodded. He licked his dry lips, allowing himself a few breaths as he tried not to panic and yank himself out of Gerard's grip. He focused on the softness of Gerard's hair between his fingers, rubbing over the locks and counting his breaths.

"I want nothing more than for you to feel heaven, _mon humain_." Gerard whispered hotly against Frank's ear through his heavy breaths, words so enticing that Frank was shivering and tightening his grip on Gerard's silky locks.

Soft lips pressed cool, hungered kisses all along his neck, making Frank tense greatly, until a searing hot pain split through his skin, and they'd reached the point of no return.


	16. Fallen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> One bite is all it takes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for your kind reviews, everyone, they truly brighten my day! xx

The initial beginning of the bite was a pain similar to blades sinking into the side of Frank's neck. Agony shot through the entire nape of his neck with a strange soreness as Gerard's razor sharp fangs slid inside his tender skin with an unflattering pop, causing Frank to flail in his grip with a cry ripping through his throat. He gripped Gerard's shoulders tight in a panic, gasping as his eyes flew open wide at the searing pain bubbling in him, only increasing in the next three seconds. He'd never experienced being his skin being pierced by a steel blade being held over licking flames, but if he should compare the feeling of fangs sinking into his neck, he would compare it to exactly that, for no other description would fit the part of the beginning of a vampire bite.

It wasn't until something utterly extraordinary took place as he wriggled in Gerard's arms, eyes welling with stinging tears from the inexplicable pain he felt firsthand. Frank thought something had gone terribly wrong if he was feeling nothing but agony in the first moment, but this flickering distress disintegrated into minuscule grains of sand streaming through the cracks of his fingers the moment Gerard's lips latched on and began to suck on the open wound at his neck. The brush of his vampire's tongue was there, touching the skin briefly, and all the pain rapidly gathered up and disappeared to be replaced by a whole new sensation coming into play.

 _Heat_. At first touch, it was like slick, heated honey gliding into his veins, warming up all of Frank's insides until he swore he was glowing gold on the outside. It held happiness, kindness, before melting into something far more seductive as it climbed inside his brain and conquered all. Frank didn't think his fight or flight instinct in the beginning could ever overpower this sensation pulling him under at full force. Moaning helplessly, he grew flaccid in Gerard's arms as the pleasure began to take over. It felt like sex was rushing into his blood, humming in all of his bones, making each one of his nerves come alive with the heightened feeling of orgasmic beauty leaving him moaning, whimpering, pressing his neck eagerly against Gerard's lips and begging for more of it. Gerard groaned at the blood gushing in a stream into his mouth, holding Frank close and attempting to steady his writhing. Frank began to pant under the heat of such sexual pleasure rapidly making its way into every single inch to him from head to toe. His hands helplessly clasped together at the back of Gerard's neck while his body shuddered from the climatic throngs of ecstasy crashing into him.

Gerard may have been more discreet about it, but Frank sensed that he felt similarly in their position. He was breathing heavily, the beginnings of moans touching some of his rough breaths, and his hands splayed out over Frank's lower back to push him closer until their bodies aligned at the edge of the bed. Frank never wanted this feeling to fade. He wanted to cling to it, moan and beg and squirm under the waves of molten sex making him lose all sense of reality. It felt like a never-ending orgasm in addition to a tremendous swell of joy, the venom from Gerard's mouth treating him so sweetly in the sensations it brought. Frank panted harshly, hard between his legs and flushed all over, tugging strands of Gerard's silky black hair and locking him in place.

"Oh god, oh fuck." Frank keened, his eyes rolling back into his head before falling shut. He swallowed harshly, gasping, feeling the world whirl around him curiously. Through his haze, he opened his eyes, realizing he'd been pinned back against the bed and his vampire was hovering on top of him, graciously sucking his blood with sharp fangs and soft lips.

Gerard drew away for one moment, his face appearing above Frank's. Frank whimpered from the loss of contact, attempting to move his hips to relieve the hardness of himself as he realized the pressure there when Gerard moved away. His mouth and chin were smeared with glistening blood, his green eyes swallowed whole by lustful red burning with his unmasked hunger for something that Frank believed, in that moment while staring into them, starved for something more than what streamed through his veins. Did he ever ache for it, his muscles contracting with pure need making his fingers curl into shaking fists, wishing they could grasping something, anything.

"Hearing you make these noises is sin in itself," Gerard purred, tongue sweeping over his lips to collect the blood dripping from them in sluggishly paces droplets. "But you taste so much like heaven."

"Don't stop." Frank begged mindlessly, so far gone that he didn't realize the carnal nature of his words. "I need more, I need - please,  _please_ , Gerard."

His vampire's eyes darkened, a growl rumbling in his chest at Frank's words, and he wasted no time in sinking his fangs back into the wound and making Frank's back arch as sex, lust, and desire was injected into his bloodstream again at full force with no sign of pain.

Frank didn't care if he sounded like a whore. Every pleasure in the world rejoiced in his nerves, his cells, the inner corners of his soul that had never been touched before, and sex lapped at all of his insides until he was beginning to grow weak from the sensation of it. His lips hung open, letting moans filter through them, body rocking against Gerard's until the vampire growled and pinned his hips to the mattress to keep him still. Instead of fighting to break away from the restraint, Frank leaned into it, pressing into Gerard, gyrating his hips for relief because he thought he might sob from the throb between his legs without any amount of tenderness towards that area. His vampire sensed his distress that rooted from pure sexual need and he slid his thigh between Frank's legs, keeping them apart, granting him euphoric friction that caused a high pitched ringing noise to hum steadily in Frank's ears. His lips shaped around noises he didn't realize he could ever make as he rutted down onto Gerard's leg, drawing a low snarl from his vampire lapping at his wound after sliding his teeth out yet again. He sucked and kissed at the skin surrounding the aching incision and only when Frank's orgasm snapped harshly into his body did he sink his fangs into the tender spot yet again to drag his blood out from the circular holes in his neck. Frank was slowly drifting, losing his mind to the pleasure swallowing him whole, and he saw bits of white encircling his vision instead of the blotchy black of unconsciousness.

"Mmm, I love you." Frank slurred, holding Gerard close, and listening to the sound of his moan echoing in slow motion as he slipped underneath the whiteness of a never-ending orgasm and didn't come back up to the surface.

-

Frank wasn't sure how long he stayed under the heavy blanket of sleep. He recalled drifting to a state of almost awaking, but his body felt so heavy around him that he had no choice but to sink back into sleep and stay there. It was like peacefully laying at the bottom of lake, listening to the sound of his heartbeat slowly thumping and only beginning to float towards the surface when it began to grow stronger. His subconscious waited until the heavy beat was strong enough to form a rhythm and only then did he feel himself slowly moving towards awakening.

His eyelids felt like they were glued shut, at first. It took a grand amount of effort to peel them back, addressing their heaviness, and seeing shadows dance through the shield his eyelashes made over his vision until he was able to focus. His sight still blurred, but Frank managed to blink the fog away and open his eyes entirely to look around.

He saw a pillow, an empty half of a bed with untouched sheets, leading to the part of it where he laid with the blankets pulled up to his chest. It was night, he could tell from the darkness shrouding the room and the gold glow of a lamp serving its purpose in the corner. Frank groaned, feeling a piercing headache assaulting his brain, skating his tongue across the roof of his mouth and noting how terribly thirsty he was. Frank touched his forehead, alarmed at the heat, and he tried to sit up.

"Not so quickly, sweet one." A familiar voice that was the embodiment of smooth velvet adopting the tones of red and plum in the only way Frank could describe interjected beside him. Frank wasn't startled by it when his heart recognized it firsthand, not jumping or gasping from its sudden appearance.

Frank looked to his right and found his vampire sitting at the very edge of the side of the bed. He seemed oddly ordinary while dressed in a black t-shirt and fitted jeans not quite as black as the spill of inky hair falling to his shoulders, framing his delicate face. His lips had color once more, contrasting with the pearl white of his skin that now also glowed just like the jewel it borrowed its pale color from. He was breathtaking, even when he didn't do a single thing to show off his beauty.

"How are you feeling?" Gerard asked in a hushed whispered. He brought his hand down to graze his fingers over Frank's forehead, cold and soothing against the burning heat under Frank's face where a fever ran inside him as his body struggled to collect the blood he'd lost.

"I have a headache." Frank winced at the dryness of his voice coming too close to splitting. "And I'm so thirsty."

Gerard's hand pulled away for a moment to reached for the nightstand behind him. He returned his hand with a tall glass of much needed water, holding it out to who thought he might die if he wasn't hydrated soon. Frank removed the sheets from his body, choosing to lay over them instead, and sat up properly to retrieve the glass with a polite word of thanks. He brought the rim of the glass to his chapped lips, and the moment the cool water touched his tongue, he couldn't stop himself from draining the glass in large gulps of water. When he was finished, Gerard plucked the cup from his hands and Frank used his sleeve to wipe away the beads of water that had dripped from the corners of his lips. His mouth was relieved, but he was still astoundingly warm.

"You feel feverish, my sweet." Gerard's sympathetic tone healed any leftover wounds inside of Frank alongside the cool, smooth glide of his hand touching his face so gently to chase away the heat bringing redness to Frank's flesh.

"I'm really warm." Frank sighed, leaning into the fresh touch of his vampire attempting to soothe him with a triumphant result as Frank couldn't imagine pulling away now from the gentle hand caressing his features so softly.

"I took too much from you." Gerard's eyes tinted darker with the guilt pushing his shoulders forward slightly in a defeated slouch. "I tried to pull away when you went limp underneath me, but my restraint dissolved for a moment. I would have killed you if I lingered for one moment more. My deepest apologies."

Frank shook his head, pushing aside the ache in the linings of his brain whenever he made such a motion. "You needed the blood. I was more than glad to give it to you." Frank swallowed against the roughness in his throat, slowly feeling the memories sliding back into his vision and dissolving most of the persistence he carried. "I would do it again."

Gerard turned to gaze at him in wonder, rounded green eyes peering into Frank's where the human had suddenly winded down at the memory of something permanently imbedded into his mind as one of the most intimate moments he'd ever been involved in, if not the most.

"I still feared for you, my human. My bliss should not be at the expense of your health." Gerard's eyes flickered to the side of Frank's neck he'd once clung to. Frank watched the moment shared between them cast over Gerard's eyes like an emerald film darkened by time and warped around the edges, moving across beautiful irises Frank was too breathless to gaze into for long.

Frank raised his hand to run his fingers delicately over his skin. He was shocked to feel nothing but smooth skin there without the interruption of puncture wounds circular and deep from both sets of fangs situated inside Gerard's mouth. His eyes flew open and he looked up at Gerard for answers.

"I healed you with my venom." Gerard clarified, eyes flickering to where Frank touched his neck. "I couldn't allow the wound to stay, it could grow infected dangerously quickly and the pain is nearly unbearable."

Frank slowly dropped his hand away from his neck, nodding. His heart was racing at double the speed as he recalled the taking of his blood. He remembered the festering pain of fangs slicing through his skin, but above all things, he still felt the phantom sensations of sex being injected into his veins in the rawest of forms possible. Without direct penetration, Frank felt the world's most delicate, beautiful pleasure, lifting him into the clouds above and chasing all of his worries out of his mind as blood was lovingly drawn from his veins and onto the gentle tongue of his vampire starving for his taste. The feeling of such closeness paired with the sensations implanting rubies into his blood, Frank would never be able to shake a memory as strong as the one he shared with a man he cared for far more than he'd ever realized.

Intensity of the affair peeled away any layers of hesitation tying Frank to the darkness. After seeing the light, nothing kept him shackled to the unease and fears turning him away from beauty, and a bite was all it had taken for Frank to fall in love with Gerard. He didn't fall, but he submerged into the sweet taste of it, glowing bright and true as it slid into his bloodstream and replaced the loss of precious blood feeding the beautiful lips of his vampire he dared to keep distance from out of insecurity puzzling Frank, drawing him away from the path he felt destined to take. The epiphany left Frank in a daze of wonder, his eyes drinking in Gerard's form in colors brighter than the black shrouding him as his vampire stewed in remaining guilt from taking too much.

"You were asleep for two days." Gerard informed Frank, breaking him out of the colorful mirage of romance diluting his entire view on everything. "Mina fed you some of her blood when you were at your worst. If it hadn't been for that blood, you would still be unconscious."

Frank's eyes rounded upon the news. "Two days, oh my god. I knew it was a long time, but not days. I'll have to thank Mina when I see her again."

Gerard sighed, a gentle sound, and Frank was amazed that something so simple could sound like the metallic jingling of wind chimes meeting the loving caress of a breeze coming the claim the enchanting noise. Gerard turned his body in towards Frank, eyes shining like jewels upon the crown of a king.

"My sweet, did I hurt you at all?" Gerard inquired with all of his subsided worry rising into his expression to make Frank's heart ache. "I must know if I did, it's been eating away at me ever since I laid you down to rest."

Frank took his chapped lip between his teeth, biting down until it smoothed over. "In the beginning, it hurt a lot. But it went away so quickly and I . . . " Frank's face filled with color under Gerard's expectant expression, the concern still creasing his perfectly shaped brows. Frank swallowed against the thudding of his heart rising in his throat and continued to tell nothing but the truth. "I've never felt anything so good in my entire life. It was . . . orgasmic, but in a way that was so much more than sexual."

A faint touch of lust glimmered inside the tide of Gerard's eyes. He shook away the look bringing shivers to Frank's spine and he melted in relief, learning that he could ease up his tense form now that he knew Frank hadn't suffered during their sacred exchange. He exhaled the breath he held in with fluttering eyelashes captivating in their length.

"I was so afraid that you writhed under me in pain rather than pleasure." Gerard swallowed, the silkiness of his tone rich as velvet triggering a concealed need inside Frank to be as close as possible to him. "But I still feel heavy for taking so much and making you ill. All of these measures to keep you safe, and yet _I_  was the one bringing you the closest to death." Gerard hung his head, filled with shame Frank couldn't allow.

"I asked you to do it." Frank whispered to his vampire, twisting around to lay in a manner where he was turned in towards his vampire. "The point of this is that you did manage to stop before draining me completely. It made me so happy to do it for you, Gerard, it felt like I was in heaven the entire time."

"My human, it's the spell of venom that erased the thought of danger from your beautiful mind." Gerard reached across the gap of space in between them to touch Frank's chin, tilt his face upwards slightly to meet his eyes. The sweetness of his touch was in great contrast to the anguish lingering in Gerard's eyes, the remains of it preventing his lips from taking the shape of a soft smile Frank ached all over to see.

"I would do it again for you," Frank whispered, fighting against Gerard's doubt. "I wouldn't even care if the process was painful, I would let you drink from me as many times as possible if it means I get to keep you here with me. You mean so much to me, Gerard, I don't want to lose you, too."

Watching Gerard soften under his words was like watching the blooming of a pale rose in the spring time. Everything closing him off from view, all of the thoughts poisoning his mind and keeping him from accepting Frank was unharmed by their exchange, beauty enveloped him to create the most ethereal creature Frank feared would fade into mist to be transferred back into heaven. Frank's chest clenched with mighty longing pooling into his heart, almost like the organ began beating for his vampire then and there. It was love, something he never thought he would allow to break down his exterior, but the gentle warmth of an emotion meant to rule the world was pushing the pair together. The gravity of romance ignited into their bodies and created a bubble of silence around them, their eyes meeting and finding the answers to every single one of their unknown questions living in the insecure linings of their opposite minds.

"J'adore toi et tes mots doux, mon humain." Gerard spoke with the language making his voice feel like liquefied silver spilling over Frank's skin, soaking into each of his pores until he was shuddering and buzzing all over from the sheer beauty sending him into a state of awe never-mind the fact that he didn't understand the meaning of the words.

"You know I don't understand French." Frank hadn't realized how close they'd come together until he felt the coolness of Gerard's breath fanning over his warm face when his vampire chuckled.

"The verbal definition of my words aren't required when I show you the depth of them each time I touch you." Gerard's fingers touched Frank's cheek softly, gliding down to his lips, and grazing them as his eyes adopted a darker shade of green Frank wanted to dive inside and submerge in forever. He wanted to live in a world where everything was green like Gerard's eyes and each thing he touched felt like the way his vampire's voice sounded.

"French sounds so beautiful." Frank breathed, slightly breathless as his realized his lips moved under the touch of Gerard's fingertips and the vampire's pupils expanded in his eyes falling down to look at their movement.

"The epitome of romance, some say, from a land where love is as rich as the sound of the language." Gerard dared to bring his lips closer, brushing them over Frank's cheek, and every cell in Frank's body came alive from the teasing nearness of lips he wished would claim his own.

"I only know how to say what I'm feeling right now in two ways. Even the second way, I think everyone knows how to say it." Frank attempted to sound calm, but his breath caught when Gerard kissed the corner of his mouth, and Frank surged forward on instinct. His vampire laughed softly, making Frank flush. Frank covered up his embarrassing motion by touching his lips to Gerard's temple, and all laughter ceased from the vampire.

"How can you say it?" Gerard's hands came to cradle Frank's face, so oddly strong even if his hands were gentle and soft, to pull Frank's face from the side of his own to look at him in a way Frank captured so many times, but never deciphered the amount of emotion basking inside it.

Frank remembered saying it before falling into the pit of unconsciousness. Perhaps it was why Gerard was so sweet towards him this evening with his breathtaking touches and deep green eyes, close enough for Frank to place his lips upon his face however he pleased. Frank's heart was fluttering quickly enough for it to mimic a butterfly taking flight. Soon, it would be light enough to take off, to settle into the chest of his vampire and become one with the other heart safely hidden away behind layers of perfect flesh and bone. Feeling him here and now, shivering as another kiss was pressing so dangerously close to his quivering lips, Frank's words melted and spilled out to Gerard to do what he wished with them.

"Ti amo." It sounded shuddery from the uncontrollable pace of Frank's breathing pattern. Forgetting the shakiness, he didn't think any two words ever rang with the amount of truth to them as his did then and there, coming from the very inner corners of his swollen heart threatening to crack his ribs from the amount of awe and romantic rawness filling it to the absolute limit. Frank knew he'd love Gerard deeply if he ever found it within himself to allow it to happen, but nothing his imagination conjured up was nearly as euphoric as this.

Gerard clung to him like a man desperate for something to hold onto before he lost himself. It was almost shocking to see tears of blood staining the rims of Gerard's eyes, the parting of his lips as he treasured Frank's face in between his hands with everything Frank adored visible inside his soul he swore he could feel floating in between them.

"Say it again." Gerard's voice was raw with emotion, a pleading note melting Frank's heart like candle wax.

"Ti amo." Frank said with more strength, laying his hands over Gerard's. "I love you. I would say it in every language if I could."

"Ti amo." Gerard quickly spoke. He tipped them backwards as he began spilling out the words in different languages as Frank wished he could. Frank couldn't identify each of the language spewing from Gerard's perfect lips pressing kisses to his face between utterings of words, but Frank's entire being was floating, it seemed, as he knew the meaning of every word as confessions of love being proposed to him. His vampire hovered above him and Frank threaded his fingers into Gerard's hair, eyes fluttering shut, feeling soft lips pressing kisses to his eyelids now that the skin was accessible.

When Gerard was finished, Frank was astonished by the eyes glittering in a sea of emotion gazing down at him like he was an artifact he'd been searching for his entire life. Frank caressed his cheek, loving the coolness of his flesh and its satin-like quality.

"I beg of you, my sweet, to allow me to steal a kiss from your precious lips." Gerard breathed, touching Frank's bottom lip. "I may die of desire if I never touch them with my own at least one time."

Frank eagerly nodded with his consent, fingers sliding so easily through silky locks of black hair framing the beautiful face of his vampire he wanted more than anything. His lips cried out for a kiss to assure him none of this was dream, that he wasn't hallucinating under the influence of a bite bringing him the most wonderful pleasures hidden in the many realms of the universe.

"Kiss me." Frank pleaded in a small whimper shocking his own self.

Shock faded as quickly as it came when the gap between them was closing. Frank didn't realize he was eagerly lifting his head to touch their lips until his shoulders elevated from the bed under his frame and it was moving quicker than he'd expected. Gerard touched him with such tenderness until their lips came close enough, breaths being exchanged and arranging a strange temperature with hot and cold, and at long last, lips met in a kiss as soft as royal fabric, as feathers on flesh, cool as the deep ocean rising high. Soft, only at first, until Gerard leaned into him all the way, lifting Frank, pressing them together to kiss him so deeply that Frank tasted the color red. Sparks tingled violently in the creases between the bones connecting in Frank's skeleton, casting over them with a charge making him kiss Gerard just as deeply, fingers clinging to his hair and keeping their lips locked together. Gerard was elegant even in the way he kissed no matter the depth. He kissed like Frank was blood he needed to survive, but so much more delicate when their lips parted and a short exhale of cool breath made Frank grow limp against Gerard.

Frank was melting, sliding down as his bones became puddles of rosewater warmed by the sunlight of romance so powerful in the pit of his stomach. Gerard followed him, keeping him from falling over, their lips moving in rhythm until Frank felt a spark of excitement from elongated fangs barely brushing his bottom lip. He moaned helplessly, a tiny noise, but enough to make Gerard's grip tighten, his lips moving slowly against Frank's until hopes of breathing were demolished. Frank had never been kissed by love in its full glory. He never wanted to move away, wishing to stay forever in the embrace of his vampire and his intense kiss far from bruising his lips, but searing his heart in a way where he knew he'd never fall out of love. Gerard was careful as his hands touched Frank's body, tracing the shape his torso and the inward curve at the small of his back, but Frank was seeing stars and bursts of color behind his eyelids. Their tongues brushed together, barely and subtly while their lips drew open to intensify the kiss, and Frank moaned against working lips, praying for more.

Gerard pulled away, a puff of cool air wafting over Frank's face. Frank drew in a jagged breath, his lips humming and swelled from the kiss that felt like it lasted for a blissful eternity. He was weakened by love, his insides trembling with lust, and he caught himself almost asking to be bitten again. Frank squeezed his eyes shut and leaned his forehead onto Gerard's shoulder while catching his breath and his rational thoughts. Gerard caressed his hair, kissed his head, holding him tightly while Frank gathered himself.

"Promise you'll kiss me this way before you bite me next time." Frank pleaded mindlessly. "I want everything."

Gerard's breath caught loudly, like he refrained from making a noise. "Words such as those leave me desiring so much more than a kiss and a bit of blood, my love." Sex whispered in his words, making Frank fall prisoner to it, and he came so close to pushing Gerard against the bed and claiming his lips again. He might have if it weren't for his weakness, the caution in the back of his mind telling him there was no rush to seek. He only pressed one last meaningful kiss to Gerard's divine lips, savoring his sweetness with the softest brush of his tongue against his bottom lip when their lips parted almost instantly to move together slowly. 

"My vampire." Frank sighed in content, kissing the bit of skin he was nearest to at Gerard's collarbone. His vampire shivered gracefully, fingers skating over the back of his neck as he brushed Frank's hair aside.

"Come with me, love." Gerard whispered to him. "You need food and water to regain your energy. After that, we all need to meet and make a decision."

Frank's moment was broken into by the menacing hands of reality. His head snapped up, confusion furrowing his thin brows that Gerard instantly detected. His vampire sighed softly, taking Frank's hand to squeeze it softly.

"To make a choice of whether or not we fight to end Lindsey's evil once and for all." Gerard informed him, lips turning down into a slight grimace. "Not all of us will want to go on with it, but I know that if we wait for a little while longer, they'll give in. All of us want justice, for our own selves or for each other."

"It'll be difficult to get all of them to agree, even in a few days." Frank wearily sat back on his knees.

"All in due time, my love. She won't stand to see immortality when she doesn't deserve to continue basking in it." Gerard touched Frank's cheek, squeezing his hand. "Now that Michael has sided with us, he's informed us that Lindsey sought out to create new vampires after you and I disappeared. We'll need every member in this coven to fight back."

Panic set off in Frank and all lingering traces of zen were broken. "As in you're going to fight? Gerard, if Lindsey gets her hands on you, then we both know what she'll do. I can't let that happen, I . . ."

"Shh, my sweet, everything will be just fine." Gerard kissed Frank's forehead in a soothing, cool touch Frank wished carried more ease with it. "I'll remain by your side. My task is not to fight, but to protect you and help you find Jamia."

For the first time since they'd met, Frank wished he wasn't just a feeble human unable to protect Gerard if the time came to facing their greatest enemy if she found them. Frank wouldn't be able to function if he lost Gerard at the expense of finding his best friend. Gaining and losing seemed to be a never ending battle conquering Frank's life, and now, he could finally understand why Gerard had been so eager to keep him from risking it all to find Jamia. Losing the person you were in love with was the most terrifying thing he ever envisioned, and nothing but bleakness could come to his mind if he tried to imagine a future beyond that possible fate.

There was one hope lingering in the back of his mind, something so incredibly close to his reach, but as he was being ushered out of the room to fill his stomach, he concluded that it would be saved for another time.


	17. Chapel

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There is no choice, but there is pain, and Frank wonders what he's gotten himself into.

Filled with newfound energy healing the fatigue dizzying Frank's view on the world surrounding him, he was able to assure his vampire that he felt well enough for everyone to organize the meeting they'd been meaning to have. Streaks of vampire bodies flew past him as they channeled into the gathering room while Gerard stayed behind to guide Frank to the room when his human pace was incredibly slow compared to theirs. Frank was filled to the top with overwhelming anxiousness now that his mind welcomed his love for Gerard, and in a crumbling state of certainty, he was beginning to withdrawal from his great desire to lead the coven of vampires to where Lindsey hid away with her evil deeds. Jamia's life was something Frank was so passionate to save, but now, his mind strung along the rising terror holding the possibility of total emptiness if he lost Gerard and the choices he made were battling in a conflict. He looked at his vampire now and saw nothing but beauty in the curve of his top lip, midnight colored hair brushing the tops of his shoulders and dramatic lashes tangling together when he blinked. Frank's insides would tear themselves apart if he lost him.

The vampires all grouped together dove into discussion as Frank sat beside Gerard and the crackling fire warmed the cold skin of the immortal. He found shelter in the corner of the sofa and Gerard's hand resting atop of his knee, squeezing softly when the matter at hand was announced and silence spilled over the beautiful statues occupying chairs and loveseats. Across from him, Frank was seeing Michael for the first time since the incident. His arrogant exterior had been stripped away from his experience with Lindsey and Frank was shocked to see how young he appeared when he allowed himself to be vulnerable. He could see resemblance to Gerard in the shape of his slightly fuller lips, his nose, the sweep of his lashes over his eyes.

Michael sensed Frank's gaze on him and their eyes met. Sparks shocked in the pit of Frank's stomach and he quickly looked away, overwhelmed by the intensity remaining in the eyes of the vampire sharing DNA with the man he loved. Fleetingly glancing back once more, he saw remorse, and it was enough for Frank to know that the younger brother of the Way's had changed.

Marius was the first to speak from the collection of vampires. He startled the group by shooting out of his head, his jaw locked and his eyes filled with a fiery blaze coming from normally icy blue irises.

"I will not risk my life and that of the love of my life to slaughter a woman who will pay for her sins as all evil beings do." His voice filled the room in a booming declaration of rejection, choosing his path of refusal.

"Marius," Aura pleaded, reaching up for her lover with the pearl studded webbing of the sleeves of her white dress spreading out over the backs of her pale hands, "My love, you must understand that by killing Lindsey, a great disruptive thought haunting my mind every day will be soothed. The thought of Lindsey living a life of riches and blood while knowing the toll she's taken on my life torments me."

"I understand you plenty, but I will not thrust you in front of an army of vampires who will not hesitate to end your life just to give you justice." Marius shook his head stubbornly, and one of the graceful vampires coming from a set of twins, Raveena, interjected in her voice reminding Frank of smoke rising from the end of a cigarette.

"These things take sacrifice." Her dark eyes glittered like the waves of the ocean under the night's spell. "If she is willing to fight for herself, for all of us, then the least you can do is fight for her."

Marius whirled around to gawk at her in disbelief. Despite his unwillingness to go through with the plan, he found his sleeve being tugged by Aura who gazed up at him with millions of pleas written in her expression, hanging onto a near desperate note that was dissolving the stiff stance of her lover who feared losing her. Frank sympathized with her, his chest clenching sickeningly as he glanced at his vampire discreetly watching the pair of vampire lovers quietly communicate through their eyes. Slowly, Marius sank down beside Aura in defeat, eyes trained intensely to the ground.

"As we all know, Lindsey is powerful." Mina stood to her feet and slowly made her way in front of the mouth of the fireplace, red gown draped over her curves and flowers neatly imbedded into the tightly spun curls of her hair. "She has the ability to break through minds, dig through them, and inflict the most intense pain to keep any person from fighting back. Our duty is to fight her vampires and assure that she finds none of us to discover the location of Frank and Gerard."

"Why is our protection over them required? Will they stay behind?" Laila was becoming defensive in her tone as if she believed it wasn't fair if they all sacrificed themselves while Frank and Gerard lingered to await the outcome. Frank thought he should interject, but Gerard touched his hand lightly, a quiet way to tell him to allow Mina to explain the plan. Frank slowly flipped his hand around for his palm to face upwards and he tangled his fingers with Gerard's pale, cold digits until he was beginning to warm up from the heat of Frank's life evident in the temperature in his flesh.

"They will be off to find Jamia, a human Lindsey has changed and manipulated to turn her towards the side of evil." Mina explained to the platinum blonde vampire with blood red painted nails and lips. "Frank's best friend. Michael, the pair will need your assistance."

"Is that really necessary?" Gerard sharply cutting into the discussion revealed that he still didn't place his trust in his brother. Frank didn't have faith in him either despite seeing the change of his expression and how the scathing look in hateful eyes had dissipated.

"I know where Jamia is located. I can help you." Michael softly spoke up. All eyes darted over to him, the vampire who'd barely spoke unless spoken to during his stay at the manor.

"Lindsey would be after you too, wouldn't she?" Gerard's gaze flitted between Mina and Michael, the two vampires with realization dawning onto their faces as the rest of the group awaited patiently for an answer.

"I still know of Jamia's whereabouts. I ask you to trust me on this, brother, it's the least I can do to make up for my sins."

Gerard remained weary, but he didn't utter another word of refusal either.

"Yes." Mina nodded once. "Then inform them of her location before they take off."

"How will the human be of any service in finding this girl?" Alexander, Raveena's twin, questioned with a finger at his full lips. "One strike from our kind and he's good as dead."

" _Alexander_." Raveena hissed at him quietly to quiet his bluntness that seemed to bring a cloud of darkness over the beauty of Gerard's face. With a quivering chest, Frank softly squeezed his vampire's hand out of hope  that a bit of contact would serve him some calm.

"No, he's right." Nadine stepped closer to the scene, her skin darker than the rest, but holding the luminous film of a smooth pearl. Her dark chocolate hair hanging to her waist and the hint of a Hispanic accent touching her soft spoken words indicated the roots of her heritage. "The human can be harmed tragically in this process."

"Which is why I will be at his side." Gerard seemed almost offended that his security was being doubted. Frank knew the strength of Gerard's need to protect him, but a haunting wave of doubt had his lip being drawn in between his teeth, returning to his mind and growing stronger as he looked down as how fragile he seemed compared to the immortal beings holding such special abilities he could never have.

"What if someone finds us?" Frank whispered. All eyes darted over to him, rounding in slight shock at his sudden comment after remaining silent for so long. With red cheeks, he continued, looking into Gerard's eyes enlarged by disbelief at his words. "I know you'll do everything you can to stop someone from hurting me, but I'm a moving target. I'm useless."

"His defense would be nonexistent." Nadine nodded her head once, agreeing with Frank.

"What are you all implying here?" Gerard's eyes from one vampire to another, increasingly appalled at the words being thrown his way. Frank only scarcely knew the answer the vampires would give him and for that, his heart was beating as heavily as the rhythm of a drum, vibrating against the bones holding his insides in a cage of ivory. He'd considered such a thing a moment ago, the possibility seeming so absurd to propose, but if others shared the same thoughts, the conscious speaking to him so softly was deepening his decision.

"Gerard," Mina's voice was a whisper, "if you turn Frank, you won't need to fear for his life constantly. He can help you."

The room was still. Breathable oxygen didn't seem to be floating around unless it was for Frank to consume, the bodies standing around inside the meeting turning into stone. But all of their eyes were trained onto Gerard, waiting for a reaction, watching the frozen expression clouding everyone from the truth of his thoughts. Frank's chest would spiral into pain if Gerard denied the proposal. Becoming a vampire was once his worst nightmare alongside being tormented by one of them, but now, seeing hell arising in the distance, he clung to the hope of becoming immortal for an abundance of reasons he couldn't place one single finger on.

"You," Gerard breathed, blinking rapidly before shutting his eyes tight as he processed this possibility. "You all think I should change him?"

"It's for the best, dear." Mina's voiced was hushed by hesitation and Frank could sense every person in the room was counting down to the explosion of a negative reaction. "It's something you must explore together on your own. I can only encourage that you do so if you want to ensure Frank's safety at the most."

"It's absurd!" Gerard growled out loud, voice echoing around the room, and all the vampires stood back as the eruption took place. Frank flinched, slipping his hand out of Gerard's when he recognized the side of him he disliked the most. A twinge of hurt pricked at the deep inside of his heart. Did Gerard not want him forever?

"Calm." Elora, holding the most uniquely colored slanted eyes, broke into the conversation. "He is your mate. Is keeping him safe and yours eternally something so unappealing to you?"

"It's the damnation of having to live forever that I don't want for him." Gerard stood, spitting his words towards the unfazed woman, and alarming her mate Nicolas who glared at Gerard and stood near her in defense. Gerard backed away, a disarming gesture, but his aggravation was clear in the hard lines of his face.

"This is a discussion you must have in private." Mina stepped into the middle of the room, daring to stare Gerard directly in the eye with tightly set lips. "You will not snap at my coven. We are here to make a decision about important matters, not for you to unleash your wrath at those who are only trying to help."

Under her logistic, Gerard cooled. Frank turned his eyes away, knowing he didn't want to meet Gerard's gaze when he turned back around out of fear that he would see the irrational hurt unlocking into the cavities of his sore heart. It was silly to be hurt when there was more than one side to every story, he had yet to hear all of the reasoning behind Gerard's denial. He sensed his vampire slowly approaching and he sunk down onto his previous spot beside Frank. Peeking through his lashes, Frank saw the tense built of his shoulders, and he quickly averted his gaze again.

"We make a decision tonight." Mina looked around at all of the vampires peering up at her, some with squared jaws and others with puzzling calm radiating off of them. "Can you find it in your hearts to risk your lives to end the woman who ruined us? The woman who killed your friends, your lovers, the woman who changed your mate against their will?"

The looks exchanged between lovers, friends, the intensity creating a thick film over the atmosphere, Frank almost couldn't handle it. Grasping the glistening beads of the rosary still hanging around his neck and having been tucked under his shirt, he gripped it tightly, rolling the crystals between his fingers as he quietly prayed for peace to become of them all if they chose to put a stop to evil. His eyes fluttered shut, submerging into his thoughts of intense prayer, until he heard a soft murmur of voices seeping into one another circling around the room. It was a word sending a shock of relief into the bones aligning his spine, the vessels of blood running through his flesh and tissue, the cause of his eyes flying open to see the word being physically expressed.

"Yes." An agreement was spoken, followed by graceful beings rising like angels to their feet. Across from Frank, Michael stood as well, joining the scene of vampire agreeing to combat. The only vampire who remained seated was Gerard. He was off somewhere inside his mind, avoiding his surroundings. In place of him standing, Frank drew in a shaky breath through his nose. Rising to his feet, he was aware of the eyes on him, curious as they wondered what his decision would be if the time came where there was a choice between humanity and the kiss of fangs entering his flesh again. His fists loosely curled at his side and his jaw squared in determination.

Mina turned slowly, seeing Frank, the question hovering in her dark eyes. Frank held her gaze steady, giving a subtle nod, and understanding brought the slightest tilt to her full lips. She glanced at stubborn Gerard, shaking her head, and turned her attention back to her vampires.

"Your choice is deeply valued." Mina went to stand beside Aura, her best friend softly grinning through tears of blood pooling at her eyes. Aura had been deeply wounded by the lasting evil of Lindsey, Frank sensed her relief as the decision was made that her tormentor would be stopped.

"One week's time, my darlings." Mina concluded. "Indulge in one another. We will leave next Sunday evening and leave with the woman's blood on our hands."

Frank wished he could cling to his mate as the rest of the vampires did, latch onto the hand of a friend for comfort, but Gerard was so cold beside him, and not in the normal touch of his hand. His look upon his vampire was saddened, even as the vampire began to disperse to take moments to themselves. With a sigh lodged in his throat, Frank stood from his seat. He walked towards the direction of the staircase, ignoring the questioning looks coming from Mina and Aura, and set off to inhale fresh air from a room far from the one all the vampires occupied to clear up the chaos racing in his mind.

_

 

Frank wandered aimlessly until he stumbled upon the wide double doors at the end of one of the hallways that sparked his curiosity. Listening through the thick wooden doors with curved black handles, he listened to see if any sound escaped, and when none did, he pulled the entrance back and peered inside. His eyes landed on the silver stripes of moonlight being tinted by the rainbows of colors from the stained glass windows embedded into the tall white walls leading to the wooden beams at the ceiling. He spotted shapes of doves fluttering from the hands of angels ingrained in the glass, casting fluorescent rays of color over the pews built into the solid tile ground. The alter at the front of the room was one for worship at the large cross hanging from the wall, surrounded by wreaths of wilting flowers with petals fluttering towards the glossy flooring different from the rest. The step lead up to an abandoned podium with a brilliant rosary draped around the light colored wood, roses lined along the top the color of blood unlike the pure white surrounding the brilliant cross looking over the empty pews prepared for prayer and delicate hymns. 

Frank slowly walked inside with his hand instinctively grasping the cross hanging from his neck. The beads felt warm as if they sensed they were in a place familiar to home, with items of grace casting orbs of different light over Frank's tattooed skin whenever he walked under the stripes of moonlight. Candles were loitered along the long table beside the podium, the strong smell of flowers rising from delicate petals and wafting under Frank's nose. It was colder inside the place resembling a grand catholic church, fresh from the misuse despite flames of candles dancing under the worship center of Jesus Christ.

He wished the coolness he felt was coming from delicate hands of the vampire he loved, a refreshing kiss lasting on his forehead to make the breath in his lungs flutter and expel. Frank chest swelled with pain remembering the anger of his vampire after an innocent proposal and he couldn't help but feel . . .  _unwanted_. As his fingers skimmed over the smooth surface of one of the pews someone must have knelt upon once, he found a tremble in his digits under the lasting feeling of emptiness coming to claim him.

It would pass, he would move past it to sink into the denial of a wretched emotion bringing a dark moment of loneliness into his heart. Frank was becoming unsure if he could take pushing aside what he felt any longer. Denying love for Gerard was tinged by a bit of rationality, but holding back grief, fear of being lost to the cruel hands of another vampire and never seeing Gerard again, it fed on his insides before it reached his brain. It was gnawing just now, a parasite crawling around within him until he'd be forced to spit out the truth while falling on his knees.

He constantly checked behind him to see if Gerard would follow him, but he never did. Frank swallowed back the pain and the worry to focus on the pews he passed, the grooves of the carved linings at the tops of the wood rubbing against his fingers like sweet little strokes to the pads of them. Avoiding his thoughts until he met with Gerard was his best bet if he searched for calmness after such an intense event unfolded before his eyes.

Frank sank down on one of the empty pews and listened to the slight creak of the seat underneath his weight. It saddened him a bit to find that the cause behind the noise was from misuse, as if only a small few inside the manor found sanctuary in the presence of god. Frank was hardly the most religious person to walk the earth, but renewing his faith in prayer led him to another realm of hope he needed to keep himself running. Frank's fingers touched the beads of his rosary and he peered up at the cross hanging on the wall, feeling the hollow pang of longing. He would do anything to feel in touch with the divine, to sense the purity of untainted blood running through his veins. He wished he could remain as innocent as he once was as a child, that he'd never escaped from his house that one fateful evening and tangled himself into the world of vampires.

One bickering thought clouding his wishes was something eating away at the fleshy veins in his heart. Frank swallowed thickly, tugging his rosary, blinking back against the burning in his eyes from keeping his gaze fixated on a cross without dropping his lids over them to keep them from drying out. If he'd never run out of the house, his path wouldn't have crossed with Gerard's. Frank was unable to imagine a life without love for his vampire, a universe in which he didn't lock his lips with desire in the form of a man. A soothing cool touch to the furnace of Frank's heart, no two beings could ever create such a symbolic pair arranged by what felt the Lord himself. Life worked in the most mysterious ways, perhaps the pain disintegrating Frank piece by piece would lead to him being reborn into something greater with his fingers interlaced with pale, elegant hands fabricated to touch Frank's soul infinitely.

"Why do we need to go through pain to get to the good?" Frank asked God out loud. His thumb rubbed over the cross hanging from around his neck. "Why couldn't you give me Gerard without taking so much from me? Aren't you a miracle worker?"

Frank didn't think he'd ever understand. For a moment, he felt like an idiot for speaking to a being who would never understand. An entity empowered by worship and adoration, perhaps something that never touched the earth at all, or a being that abandoned everyone when all faith was lost the second one of Frank's own kind found blood from another human being on their hands. Not the blood from a woman, from a wound, from an illness, but a sickness of violence bound to ruin humankind as a whole. Frank gripped his rosary tight, shutting out the negative and focusing on the gentle sound of the wind from outside brushing against the stained glass coloring such bland colors with shades of heaven.

Frank was scarcely beginning to find peace when he sensed a presence in the room. He had a moment of hope, hope that God was there to make peace with Frank, but the gentle tap of footsteps matching a familiar rhythm of someone he loved dissolved that tiny shred of hope and replaced it with returning nerves. He let go of the rosary he desperately held onto and let it tumble down his chest again.

Frank didn't look at his vampire when he sank down beside him on the pew, the creaking of the wood filling in the gap of silence bound to grow between them. From the corner of his eye, Frank held the knowledge that Gerard didn't gaze at him, but at the cross held high at the alter, watching the movement of the two men sitting in the chapel. Frank measured the space in between their bodies and determined that he could easily stretch his hand out and brush his knuckles over the pale cheek of his vampire, brush locks of his silky black hair away from his face to kiss the curve of his jaw and whisper to him how he ached for their eternity. With a clenching chest, Frank swallowed down the desire, touching the rosary again to aid him in fighting against the pull his vampire had on him.

"I couldn't find you for a moment." Gerard's soft voice carried over to Frank's ears. Frank's aching chest only worsened in condition at the sound of the familiar voice touching his skin like the silk it was.

"How did you find me here?" Frank locked his eyes with the painting of the Virgin Mary above a small worshiping alter beside the cross, seeing how the candles made her sorrowful gaze come alive.

Gerard chuckled once, brief and without genuine humor. "Scent."

It must have been how vampires so easily hunted their prey, and it not for hunting, then for guiding their way towards humans they sought out. Frank supposed his scent must have been intensified in his vampire's nose after he'd tasted his blood, consumed the essence of him to feed. Frank touched the inside of his wrist and felt the thud of his pulse reminding him of the moment. He stopped a shiver from ripping down his spine and felt it decay in his gut, cold and melting.

The silence dripping between them wasn't filled with prayer even if they both held the gaze of holy beings depicted through paintings in the chapel. Frank listened to the gentle sounds of flames dancing inside of candles, the wind outside, his own breathing inside his head. Licking his dry lips, he glanced at Gerard from the corner of his eye. His breath was stolen by beauty. Red and green and yellow danced over perfect pale skin and silken hair, beams of white shining across thick lashes curled upwards, claiming Gerard as if he was one of the images belonging to stained glass. Longing pooled in Frank's stomach, almost like callous sadness rising up in him again without an invitation.

Gerard must have sensed Frank looking no matter how discreet he remained. He turned his attention to Frank, eyes agleam the moment they landed on his lover. Frank shrunk back slightly, tearing his eyes away, grappling onto the rosary again in spite of the heavy thud of his iron ball of a heart.

"Are you upset with me?" Gerard whispered. Frank didn't want the subtle ring of sadness in his vampire's voice to affect him, but as always, it did, picking apart his heart like it was made of string.

"I am." Frank refused to higher the hushed tone of his voice in a place meant for the sacred chill of silence no matter how intensely his insides tangled up from conflict. As much as love fed the emptiness left inside his hollow heart, it became a crossfire with the many rational thoughts leaving tiny wounds.

Cold fingers brushed against Frank's where one of his hands rested on the pew. He flinched lightly from the initial unexpectedness of their presence, but such a tender fold of fingers picking his hand up left the churning in his gut come to a halt. He turned his head and watched as Gerard, stirred up with remorse, brought Frank's hand to his lips, and pressed soft, apologetic kisses to each of his fingers.

"It was never my intention to wound your heart, my love." Gerard's rounded eyes were filled with enough sadness to equal the look of tears pooling inside them if he had the ability to produce them normally. The absence of blood tears was a bit of a relief to Frank, for he knew the sight of them would break down the cold stone walls drawn around him after feeling the sting of Gerard's rejection.

"Maybe you didn't mean to hurt me, but you did." Frank drew his hand away from soft lips coming close to melting him. "It was embarrassing. Now they all know that you don't want to keep me."

Gerard's eyes flew open in shock. He scrambled closer, blissfully cool hands touching Frank's cheek in a gliding touch he turned away from with a frown twisting his lips. Gerard whimpered in a pained fashion, breaking Frank's heart.

"Of course I want to keep you," Gerard's voice withered, "I never want you to leave my side. My sweet, my love, my everything." He twitched as if he leaned in to kiss Frank, but he abstained, and the human out of the pair felt the beginning of a sting in his eyes indicating that his weakness would soon bring tears to them.

"Then why don't you want to change me?" Frank wouldn't be appeased until he knew the answer. "You told me you wanted to change Charlotte. What's so different about turning me?"

Gerard's gaze was touched with shock, as if he sincerely thought Frank wouldn't remember that detail from the romantic tale belonging to his vampire and another woman who remained a stranger even if Frank shared her blood. Gerard sighed deeply, growing flaccid bit by bit in defeat. Slowly, he lowered his head to rest his smooth forehead against Frank's shoulder, his frame shivering as he reached for the rosary dangling from Frank's neck.

"You are so young," Gerard whispered, words carrying the heaviness of despair, "your youth has yet to be spent. I was not much older than you when Lindsey turned me and I remained bitter for so long. My humanity was gone forever, I was condemned to watch friends and family rot from a distance while I stayed frozen in time."

Frank was saddened for Gerard, feeling the heavy weights of it pinning his ankles to the ground as if shackles wrapped around them. His sweet vampire remained stoic for so long until he crumbled under the baleful eyes of forever staring him in the face. Life hadn't treated him kindly, but what his vampire didn't understand was that his own story differed greatly from the one he listened to.

"I don't feel youthful." Frank crooned softly. He touched his fingers to Gerard's hair, brushing through the strands with slow movements. His eager vampire leaned into his touch like he'd been dying for the warmth of it. "I feel like all the life's been sucked out of me, most of the time. The one thing I cling to is you. You're all I want, Gerard."

Gerard groaned, similar to a cry of pain. "All of this unfairness. It's pushed you towards the wrong direction."

Befuddled, the space between Frank's eyebrows creased. "What?"

Gerard lifted his head to peer into Frank's eyes. So strikingly gorgeous in the veil of his black eyelashes shadowing over brilliant olive green eyes, but sorrowful enough to obliterate the world with one steady gaze. "Life has treated you so unfairly, taking the things you love and grinding them into dust. It's made you believe that being given eternal life is better than all of this."

Frank was shaking his head before Gerard was finished speaking. "No, Gerard, don't you see that I want to be changed so I can live forever with you? I don't want to start growing gray hairs and wrinkles while you stay this way forever."

"Please, _mon humain_." Gerard begged him softly, eyes squeezing shut.

"I love you." Frank understood the roots Gerard grazed upon for his hesitation over turning Frank into one of his own kind, but Frank couldn't stand the thought of watching time steal the youthfulness from his skin and his health while Gerard stood and watched. Above all, he wanted to live inside an infinity with his vampire. He recalled being told about the bond between a new vampire and his creator, the strength of it ruling over any human romance lived out in fairy tales. Frank wanted every bit of it.

"And I love you more." Gerard took Frank's hands into his own once again. Kisses were pressed along the backs of them, over the length of his fingers, but the expression in his eyes was hidden from Frank as his lids covered the green. "Which is why I must decline."

Frank hated the lightening bolts of shock showering over his knotted insides. He should have been prepared for the rejection once more while spending so long observing the stubborn nature of his vampire. Normally, he was a expert at clearing the fog from Gerard's vision, but something about the clearness of Gerard's voice told Frank that no future he had in mind could be made reality.

Frank tugged his hands away from Gerard's grip. "And yet, if you were given the opportunity, I bet Charlotte would be living a life of immortality with you right now."

He detested the look of anguish causing Gerard's eyes to snap open, but the truth of such a statement lingering in the air without the vampire fighting against it only set it in stone. Frank hurt to the very core of his bones knowing Gerard was once willing to grant vampirism to someone he fell in love with long ago, yet, something about himself made the circumstances different. Frank didn't want to differ from her--in fact, sometimes he wished he could have _been_  her to be given everything he needed from Gerard without falling into tiresome arguments with him in a never-ending cycle.

He could never amount to Charlotte Ann Iero.

Rising from the pew, Frank couldn't stand the bursts of pain touching his chest like flaming spears. He took the rosary from around his neck, so close to ripping it off and letting the pretty beads fly in every direction on the glittering tile floors, but he wasn't so cruel to destroy something with delicate meaning. He let the rosary fall into Gerard's lap before he whirled around and started for the doors of the entrance. No such cry for him to stop was heard, so he yanked open the heavyset door and flew past them with a need to escape before his tears spilled over the corners of his eyes and flooded onto his cheeks. Weeping from an incomplete mural of the romance he dared to fantasize about felt disgusting to do in a place meant for holy prayer and the confessions of sins hanging from a liar's lips. He'd done no such thing but hope for the upbringing of immortality to bind his blood to his vampire for as long as the earth may churn below their feet.Only fools fell onto their knees at the mercy of a vampire with empty promises.


	18. 18. My Flesh and Blood

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gerard can't resist the way love lives inside of Frank.

If anything was eternal in this world, it was sadness. The idea of infinity and forever was a startlingly terrible concept as your mind pushed you towards the boundaries of thought, touching the end and realizing only blackness awaited for you as holes filled your brain. Eternity was unknown, but one thing was certain, and it was that sadness had a signature of infinity labeled across it. Sadness and grief were immortal as long as the grains of life slipped through the fingers of the creator of the universe, the threads holding the earth together slowly coming undone as one life after the other was plucked away to enter another realm of existence. Anguish would lead to the scars not placed on a person's exterior flesh, but deep inside the very core of a human being, only visible to the beholder who took one seldom glance at their face in the mirror before the glass shattered underneath bloody knuckles.

Frank didn't know if immortality of something other than sadness was possible for him. The preservation of life was yanked out from below his hands from the only person he'd trust to ensnare his humanity and let it be free as something far more extraordinary tied around his awaiting wrists, pulling him into a collision of colors on the other side of possibility. For now, he was casted into the shadows and being yanked further away from the tunnel of light he ached to be a part of. Denial of what he thought would be so sweet was like a splatter of dark color upon a beautiful canvas carefully put together in time.

Frank's sadness was infinite. He felt it pulling out from under his feet when he ran, forcing him to run faster and torture himself to keep up, but he'd always fall to his knees in a puddle of tears rising up to his neck. Throughout his life, the darkness always touched the outside of his soul, but now that he was involved in matters beyond his imagination, he was becoming tired. Tired of falling to pieces only to discover the truth was far more twisted than he thought, Being casted aside by vampires, a fragile little thing whose humanity was meant to be trapped inside him, a matter so delicate that he was denied immortality to stay beside his beloved vampire. Frank was exhausted, his bones were giving up on him, and he found himself wishing that he'd never involved himself in something as intricate and dangerous as the species of vampires.

When he bathed that evening, he scrubbed his skin with vigor, ignoring his hot tears and gliding the washcloth foamed up with soap over his flesh to rid of the grime. Frank was stung by heartache, so vicious in how it attacked an organ as delicate as the heart until waves of nausea made him slow down in his vigorous scrubbing. He'd felt something similar while grieving Jamia, but nothing  could amount to the type of sadness piling up so high he felt like he could topple over at any moment. It was different from mourning a friend. This was a new pain. Frank couldn't bear the thought of knowing he could never mean as much to his vampire as his first human lover had. He cursed Charlotte Iero, uncaring if she was with the dead, only knowing the hatred festering inside him as the feeling of never being good enough stabbed through the cells tumbling through his blood.

Frank's movements were sluggish when he managed to haul himself out of the tub while the water drained to dry himself off. He never wanted to move another limb again, wishing he could remain in the calming waters of the tub and never surface again if it meant he wouldn't need to face Gerard. Frank knew then and there that all of his worries from before were allowed to dissolve now. Gerard didn't love Frank because he believed Charlotte was inside of him. If he had, he would have been turned as soon as the wishes escaped his lips, under the holy eyes of God and the Virgin Mary inside the chapel. It should have brought him some relief, but heaviness rested on his chest.

Dragging himself back to his chambers after getting dressed, Frank wanted to wrap himself inside luxurious sheets and fall into a land of sleep. His body was tired, his mind overworked, and sleep sounded like a blissful escape at long last after he spent so long remaining hesitant over falling into it due to his nightmares. He opened the door, finding the warm glow of the lamp casting over him, and he looked up once as he stepped inside.

He should have expected Gerard to be awaiting his arrival inside, grasping onto the rosary he left behind in a tight, trembling fist, looking as if he'd been struck millions of times by the opposite end of cupid's arrows as he stood in the center of the room. Gerard's head snapped up when the door opened and Frank stepped inside, eyes widening on impact.

Frank froze with his hand wrapped around the handle of the door. His gaze locked with Gerard's, connecting with the pain radiating off of the vampire trembling inside his room, almost like their anguish was a swirl of similarities in their own individual ways. Perhaps both of their hearts ached with a cruel bite of heartbreak, but Frank didn't think Gerard's could ever amount to the throbbing ache yanking his heart apart piece by broken piece. It jolted in his chest just now, so intensely painful that a gasp stuck in the center of his throat.

"What are you doing in here?" Frank refused to move away from his spot.

Gerard let out a large breath of relief, blended in with the whisper of agony shooting sparks of electricity through Frank. His shoulders hunched forehead and he smiled with no humor, stepping closer to the human.

"I couldn't allow you to sleep tonight thinking that whatever you've assumed is the truth." Gerard's voice had never trembled that way before. Frank couldn't explain the quivering pattern of it, thinking it teetered so close to the edge of breaking. It only made Frank move closer to the door.

"Gerard, you know what I said is true. It's the reason why you didn't bother to stop me. If I were Charlotte, you would have turned me, but I'm not, so I'm stuck being this fragile little human." Frank swallowed against the bitterness tainting his tongue. Gerard winced at his words, genuine in his pain.

"Let me explain."

Frank couldn't bear to listen to him speak. His chest tightened, caving in on him, and his breath was coming out shaky.

"Get out." Frank turned away from him, stepping away from the doorway to make room for Gerard to pass. "I don't want to listen to you."

"Please, mon humain, I  _beg_  of you--"

"All you are is sweet words, Gerard!" Frank snapped, the brittleness of his self control shattering like glass and piercing his interior until the pain left him breathless. "You tell me these wonderful things, you speak like poetry and make me love you more and more every time you open your mouth, and you made me believe that you'd want to keep me by your side forever. Maybe all I'll ever be to you is a source of blood you've been trying to get a bite out of all along. I don't know. Just go."

"No," Gerard breathed, breaking apart just as Frank did in a manner as fragile as the undoing of porcelain meeting the harsh surface never meant to make contact with something so delicate, "Frank, I love you as I've never loved a human being before, how can you say something so cruel?"

Frank's eyes flew open in disbelief. "You rejecting me is your way of loving someone more than you've loved anyone?"

"My love, you only hear what the devil on your shoulder pleads for you to hear!" Gerard's velvety voice joined hands with pain deeper seated than any sort of hurt Frank had witnessed in his life, even compared to his own. He was gutted, standing frozen at the other end of the room, not noticing a blur of a vampire moving across it to shut the door for privacy, and he was suddenly stood in front of Frank.

Frank gasped, hands flying against the wall in shock, but his eyes met the sight of a tormented masterpiece before he could give himself a chance to wriggle away. Bloody tears pooling inside mesmerizing eyes showing the truth of the pain in Gerard's heart, trickles of the crimson substance making paths down snow white flesh. Gerard's lips were turned into a grimace as he sobbed softly, an angel falling victim to the razor blades of heartbreak cutting him into streamers of soft silk stained by red tears. Frank pressed against the wall, frozen in time and in shock, unsure of how to process the weeping creation made from a collaboration of God and the Devil.

"Listen to me, my angel, know the truth." Gerard's volume hovered above a pained whispered, an entity lost and weeping with the longing of being reunited with peace. "I cannot bear inflicting pain onto your beautiful soul. Above all, I cannot lose you. I'd go mad, I'd . . . " He couldn't finish his sentence. He, the inventor of exquisite words weaving the most beautiful pictures in Frank's head, couldn't explain what he would endure if Frank turned his back on him.

It was enough of a mind shattering disbelief to make Frank want to listen. An angel wept at his mercy, no coldness iced over inside him while watching it take place.

"Tell me." Frank shut his eyes. Jagged puffs of cool breath pressed to his skin in the limited space he was provided between the wall and Gerard. His own warm exhales made a shield protect them, entangling their communication as he opened his eyes again and saw the tragically beautiful stains of blood tears ringing around Gerard's eyes.

His vampire slowed in his gentle sobs, but his shaking didn't cease. He drew in a breath, calming himself, and cool fingers grazing Frank's arm made him flinch. He quickly relaxed, not wanting to be touched, but not having the heart to turn down the affection of someone so beautiful and torn apart.

"Changing any human out of love is an act of selfishness." Gerard started, voice taking a step lower. "In doing so, I'm robbing you of your chance at heaven, of living life, falling in love more than once and living free. I would kill to be human again, Frank, and I would hate myself if you ever wished for the same not long after I've changed you."

Frank found many flaws inside of his logic, but he remained silent. He watched Gerard lift his head, locking his eyes with Frank's and gazing into them with the intensity of history circling in his dark green irises.

"I've learned since my desire to change Charlotte. If I had done so, she wouldn't have had her wonderful children, she wouldn't see herself blossom into a mature, beautiful woman, and she'd never indulge in what it feels like to be  _human_. Taking something so precious as the blood in your veins away from you, snatching the sparkle of innocence from your beautiful eyes, I couldn't forgive myself for doing it. If you grow miserable in immortality, there is no chance at returning to the way you were."

Frank swallowed down the thick knot forming in his throat. He had to speak or else the illusion of a bleak future Gerard had in his mind would imprint itself there forever.

"If I'm with you, I could never be miserable. This is my life now, Gerard, you know I could never live a normal life after this." Frank whispered.

Gerard's eyes lightened with an unidentifiable sadness. Another tier of it Frank had never felt before, and perhaps that was the reasoning behind its mystery. Gerard lifted his trembling hands to come and bracket around the sides of Frank's face, an embrace so carefully construed that Frank almost sank against the wall in a puddle of melted skin and bone. His eyes watered, looking into Gerard's deeply to attempt to find his soul in them.

"I love you more than I loved her," Gerard breathed, thumbs stroking over Frank's cheekbones, "and that is the reason why I want to keep you this way. I didn't love her enough to care for her humanity, so blinded by my first true romance that I couldn't see what pain I wished to bestow upon her. Even if you can't live a normal life again, you are mon humain. My human. And I am in love with your human nature as well as every part of you."

Frank whimpered at the tenderness fluttering over the ridges of his heart and pulling it back together like medical stitches. The feeling of his chest collapsing was still present, but the nature of the movement wasn't from the roots of pain. Frank lifted his own hands and they found their reason inside Gerard's hair, sliding through the silken locks and loosely tangling up inside them until Gerard came closer so their bodies were as close together as possible.

"I will always be your human." Frank nodded frantically. "I'll be me no matter what I am or what I become."

"Immortality will decay your innocence." Gerard denied him once again, but Frank clung to him with desperation closing his wounds, tugging his chest, pulling Gerard against him to press his lips over and over to the corners of Gerard's mouth.

"I will always be me, Gerard. The man who loves you, the man who wants to be with you for as long as time allows us to. Even if eternity isn't infinite after all, I want to be in love with you when the world bursts into flames. My vampire." Frank gasped from the tears in his throat cutting him off. He felt Gerard gripping his shoulders, then his waist, spun under a spell of love from the words Frank fed to him. Frank wanted nothing but the bite of his lover, a kiss from his lips, to have his body laid into a restful sleep so he may awaken in a new form of himself prepared to begin another life with his vampire.

"Mon humain, your desire leaves me breathless." Gerard lifted Frank for his legs to wrap around his vampire's waist, locking their bodies close until their were dangerously close to kissing. "How could you ever love a creature like myself?"

"I see an angel, not a creature." Frank brushed his lips over Gerard's top lip, feeling how his vampire inhaled a shaky breath, and their bodies slotted so close together that Frank's skin was singing with desire. His blood rushed under his skin and Gerard growled softly from the pulse of it calling to him. Frank whimpered, tugging Gerard's hair, and they were kissing as all words they may have wanted to say died off when Frank's need to be touched reflected onto Gerard. Silk lips, a cool kiss being warmed by Frank's heated mouth, Frank melted into the cradle of Gerard's arms as he was kissed as deeply as he was the first time. If it didn't mirror the intensity of their first kiss, then it was surely amplified as Frank exerted his frantic need to feel close as possible into it, increasing the heat of their kiss until lips moving in tandem were drawing open and shut in a pattern moving towards being uncoordinated. It was like they'd been made to kiss each other, expressing their love in the form of mouths pressing together and tasting something as sweet as candy from heaven on each other's lips. Frank was overcome with deep affection, his breath lost in their lasting kiss.

Frank's heart pounded, a spark of excitement pricking the top of his head when the pointed tip of Gerard's fang prodded his bottom lip in a moment where their lips moved frantically together and Gerard was stumbling back towards the direction of the bed. Frank parted his lips, letting the end of Gerard's fang prick his bottom lip, and a gentle sting broke out over his sensitive flesh. When a bead of blood rose to the surface of his lips, Frank was thrilled by the soft moan Gerard let out when he inhaled the essence of the scent of fresh blood. He broke apart their lips, lids heavy over gleaming green eyes beginning to spark with newly grown lust, and Frank's mouth fell open to pant heavily while gazing into those eyes mirroring his own emotions.

They were a blur of color transferring to the bed cleanly made, soon to be disrupted by their writhing bodies and the possible transition of Frank entering a life of vampirism. Frank landed on his back with a gasp, his eyes flying open, and he found Gerard looking like a tangle between heaven and hell in the seductive nature of his swinging hips as he crawled over Frank's body. His eyes gleamed, almost animalistic in their bright signs of lust for blood slowly trickling down Frank's bottom lip. The lust for flesh, in both sin and hunger, burned in the expression of the beautiful vampire, turning Frank's bones into ash as he went limp underneath him. He wanted to be dominated by this carnal entity covering his body, bowing his head, kissing Frank with deep passion whilst suckling his bottom lip to taste his blood. His vampire groaned from the flavor that must have been inexplicably wonderful if he made such noise upon lapping at it. Frank shuddered, arching up under Gerard, gasping into his mouth with newfound desire.

"I wish I had the ability to make love to you," Gerard breathed in a smooth purr rolling off his tongue when he pulled away from Frank, gazing deep into his eyes with a yearning stare clouded by lust. "If I had the chance, I would make fall apart so beautifully underneath me, my sweet, and watching you come would be enough to send me into such a place of bliss as well."

Frank moaned, swelling in his pajama pants, gripping Gerard to press their lower halves together. "Why can't you?"

Gerard gathered the remaining blood collected on Frank's slicked bottom lip with the tip of his finger, sliding his digit into his mouth and wrapping his lips enticingly around it to suck off the taste of blood. Frank's arousal only increased from the sight of pleasure falling over Gerard's face, his eyes falling shut.

"The sin of finding orgasmic joy in taking the blood of humans robbed me of my right to pleasure through sex. The minimal blood inside of us only provides our bodies so much." Gerard looked almost agonized to explain it. He ran his hand ever so slowly down Frank's chest, lowering his face to hover his lips over Frank's trembling pair. "But a bite is all it takes, isn't it, my love?"

Frank kissed Gerard without speaking again. He drew Gerard closer, kissing him until more blood seeped from the wound on his lip and Gerard indulged in the erotic teasing it brought to him, for it wasn't enough to fully sedate his want for Frank's taste. Frank wanted Gerard to draw his blood into his mouth, taste the trueness of his love inside of the organic flow, be given something greater in return, for no longing burned as intensely in his soul as the need to be spun into a chance at forever. Frank wrapped his legs around Gerard, lips tendering brushing against Gerard's as another tiny cut was accidentally carved near the corner of his lip. It stung a bit more as the flesh was thinner there than at the center, but his breath shuddered from the soft suckling he was granted, blood touching Gerard's tongue now peeking out to briefly touch to the tip of Frank's.

"Turn me." Frank pleaded when his lips were free for a second, a hushed whimper. "Change your mind, give me your everything. That's all I ask of you."

Gerard gripped Frank's hip to restrain himself, fight against the reddening of his eyes brought to him from the pulsing of Frank's blood under his flesh pressed against him in every form. He panted deeply, fingers splaying out over Frank's hip and gliding slowly under his shirt. Frank yelped at the cold, then suddenly went flaccid from the pleasure of a cool touch on his hot skin.

"If I change you, you will become something far from human." Gerard skimmed his hand over Frank's warm skin, causing the human to arch underneath him. "You will be handing yourself over to me entirely. Take in my blood and sit still as I drain you to your death."

Frank wanted to falter at the latter end of Gerard's explanation. He opened his eyes and his lashes fluttered in shock, but the moment he met Gerard's eyes, he became certain that he would go through anything if it meant he would never need to leave his vampire. Gerard's eyes were overcome with love as he gazed down at Frank, molten green drawing Frank in and slowly drowning him in the intensity of never ending romance. He picked Frank up from the waist, slowly drawing them onto their knees in front of one another on the bed. They remained close and Frank rested his frail hands on Gerard's chest, running the tips of them along the neckline of his shirt and gazing up at his vampire in a haze of lust and love.

"Take me." Frank whispered. He pressed his lips to Gerard's, sealing his decision, slowly becoming weaker underneath the expert lips moving against him to thrust them back into a state where lips and blood were all that existed. Frank tugged Gerard's shirt, trailing underneath the material to curiously skim over the smooth skin hidden underneath. He sighed shakily in bliss from the cool softness of perfect flesh under his fingers, spreading them out over his vampire's flat stomach and further to his chest as Gerard shuddered, brushing his lips to Frank's. 

Gerard pulled away, lids and thick eyelashes heavy over his wanting eyes and his lips parted as he lifted his shirt away from his body to exhibit himself. Frank's breath was taken away from the sight of flawless skin going on for inch after inch, pale flesh a miracle of purity when Frank freely ran his hands all over his body. His vampire pulled him close, tugging Frank's hair softly until the human moaned from the sensation and Gerard was kissing him once more. Fangs brushed his lips, tongues met and slowly slid against each other as Frank continued to touch him. He broke free from the moment with a large breath, earning lips at his throat as Gerard dipped his head down blindingly fast to press deep kisses all over his skin. Frank whimpered, grasping Gerard's hips, admiring satiny flesh as he titled his head back in bliss. Gerard kissed his throat, fangs scraping over the thin skin, and the faint rumble of a growl vibrating in his chest made excitement prickle under Frank's flesh.

"Please, love, I can't wait any longer." Frank pleaded, legs weakening under him.

Gerard pulled away from his neck, tongue sweeping over his lips, and Frank could see now that after having his lips against the vein at his neck pulsing with the most blood, his second set of fangs elongated, intimidating but enthralling all the same. Gerard wrapped his arms around Frank's waist and held him against his body, moaning softly at the feeling of Frank's arousal pressed against him. Frank blushed an appealing shade of red, watching in fascination as Gerard lifted one of his hands to the curve between his neck and shoulder, sticking his thumb out, and gliding the nail against the delicate skin until blood beaded from the shallow cut so bright against snow white flesh.

"If you join me in my eternity, you will go with love." Gerard breathlessly said, cupping Frank's face in his hands and kissing him as deeply as the waves of the ocean submerged. Frank couldn't breathe, but in the most wonderful way.

"Drink, my love." Gerard grasped Frank's hair in one of his pale hands, guiding his mouth to his open wound. Frank was eager to bring his lips to the bleeding cut, hands going across the shape of Gerard's waist as his tongue laid over the flesh and collected the droplets of blood dripping from the wound. Gerard shivered and tightened his grip on him with Frank cringed from the initial taste, gasping at the coppery flavor bitter in his mouth. He shut his eyes tight, focusing on the rapid beating of his heart, and placed his lips over the wound to draw the blood into his mouth.

He sputtered, cringing immensely, but Gerard shushed him so gently and kept his head in place, encouraging him softly to continue as his fingers ran through strands of his hair. Frank trembled greatly, grasping Gerard's shoulders as the thickness of blood streamed into his mouth with the most unpleasant taste, until it quickly began tasting of something far from the flavor of melted down coins and flesh. Rapidly, his mouth was being filled with the liquid from up above, the physical form of the sensation of the bite once given to him from the one he loved. The thin stream of blood suddenly wasn't enough and Frank began to suckle intensely in a great eagerness for more, causing his vampire to shiver and moan, holding their bodies together as Frank's confidence built.

"Yes, my human, drink." Gerard whispered breathily, moaning around the words and keeping Frank's head still as he sucked the dribbles of blood leaking from the wound. "Oh, how wonderful your mouth feels, mon humain.  _Ah_."

Frank whimpered, gripping Gerard's shoulders, feeling as if he was sipping blood from a god. The intoxication was brought upon him from this substance serving as the sweetest nectar, thick as honey and a warm gush so lavish inside his mouth before it dripped down his throat, chasing away the coldness from inside his body. He pushed Gerard back onto the bed, unaware of his eager movements, and straddled the vampire he drank from. Gerard moaned, his back arching, gripping Frank's thighs as if the taking of his blood was something so incredibly erotic to him. In his world where his body was forbidden from the pleasure of sex, this was as sensual as exchanges could ever be, and Frank was drunk off of the feeling, knowing he'd never feel anything as passionate as this in his life. He suckled harshly, whimpering, nails grazing over Gerard's skin.

" _Enough_." Gerard's broken voice cut through the incredible moment of intimacy, pulling Frank's head away from his wound with a tight grip on his hair he wouldn't dream of yanking away from. Frank gasped for air, the sound broken, and the blood surrounding his swollen lips was beginning to dry the moment he wasn't in contact with the wetness of it. Gerard's eyes reddened as he looked at Frank with plump and blood stained lips, flush cheeks and eyelids heavy over his eyes while he was trapped in a thick haze. Gerard gently brushed away the blood dripping from his lips, switching their positions to hover above Frank.

"Am I what you desire, my love?" Gerard's shaking fingers trailed down Frank's face, gaze bathing in tenderness despite the tremble for his beloved's blood. "Do you wish for me to drain you completely for your awakening?"

"More than anything." Frank nodded eagerly. He wrapped his body around Gerard's, his hand coming to caress Gerard's cheek while holding the weight of his love in his fingertips. He touched them to Gerard's lips, underneath his chin, holding his gaze intensely. With a soft kiss giving Gerard all of his trust, Frank pulled away, resting his head against the bed and tilting it to the side to bare his neck to his vampire. He ached for the feel of his teeth, the blood flowing from the vein thudding inside his neck to thrust him into another plane of existence where nothing but pleasure awaited his presence. He heard Gerard moan breathlessly, enchanted by the sight of the offering so lovingly handed to him. He hauled Frank up, lifting them back to their position of kneeling. Frank pressed his body into Gerard's, panting softly, shutting his eyes tight at the instant feeling of cool breath touching his tender skin.

"I give to you my heart," Gerard kissed the nape of Frank's neck slowly, lips moving over it when he spoke. "and with my blood, you are mine forever."

Fangs pricked Frank's skin, applying painful pressure, before they slid into his neck with a slick sound of entry, and pain radiated through the entire right side of Frank. He cried out, roughly clinging to his vampire holding him tightly, and forced himself to keep still as he knew the initial pain would soon fade into something greater than life itself. He trembled, tears spilling from his eyes quickly, and Gerard sympathetically rubbed his tongue over Frank's skin before he began to draw the blood from the puncture marks. As soon as the touch of venom graced Frank's open wounds, the pain was bundled up as it began vanishing almost as quickly as it had come.

The pleasure thundering through each of Frank's singing veins was intensified by the knowledge of what would become of him when he found himself drifting off as he had the first time. Through his moaning and soft pleas as Gerard ran his hands along his body while feeding, he could feel the tango of love playing across his skin, the heavenly mixture of sex and love coming to charge all of his nerves with the fire of sweet passion. His blood sang and twirled in joy as it dripped into his vampire's mouth and his entire body hummed from the carnal romance claiming every fiber of his being. He went weak in the circle of his vampire's arms as his thighs trembled, falling and sliding down, and even as the weakness of his body settled into a pool on the bed, Gerard went with him, holding him tight and suckling his blood for all it was worth. Frank stared up at the ceiling in his bliss and saw colors swirling over the foundation, the patterns dancing over the walls and bleeding into the room to make it pulse as if it was just as alive as he was. Frank's body rippled, arched, his cries of pleasure being let out into the room until it ebbed into sobs made silky smooth from the touch of moans he couldn't hold back. He ripped at his clothes, peeling them off from the overheating of his skin, and Gerard granted his desire by tearing his shirt into pieces.

Frank gasped loudly when Gerard's mouth left his neck. The pleasure still thrived, though he whimpered from the loss of the starving mouth worshipping him. He pleaded from him to come back, but Gerard growled softly, pinning him down to the bed and transferring his lips to Frank's bare chest. Frank's eyes shot open and met the hungered gaze of his vampire kissing a hot trail down his body, hands stroking his hips to the path of his thighs. He found the soft flesh at his hip, kissing over the curve, his tongue lapping at it, until he held Frank's alarmed gaze steady and sunk his fangs into a new part of his body. Frank yelped loudly, hissing from the sharp pain making his body jolt, but the sex zapping into his bloodstream again held him back from his torture. He let out a strangled moan, writhing over the sheets, becoming a slave to this ecstasy ingraining itself into his DNA. It was like he was created for this, his body had been crafted with the intention of having a vampire's bite push him into another realm of paradise he hadn't known existed until his lover came to sip his blood.

Frank felt everything so sensitively until it all blurred into one mass of erotica draining him completely. The delicate hand sliding in between his legs to shower sparks into his lower stomach, the sharpness of teeth entering new places at his hips and his torso until the pain was nonexistent each time that glorious mouth belonging to his vampire transferred to worship another part of him. He was moving his hips, unwinding, the never ending orgasmic feeling overwhelming him until he began fading. Some part of him was afraid of slipping under, partly because he never wanted this feeling to end, but also, because he knew he would be giving his life away to death. Gerard's blood made itself a home inside of him, assuring he wouldn't remain gone for long, but a spark of fear couldn't be helped. He whimpered, clutching the sheets.

"I love you." Frank gasped, making sure if would be known before he was completely pulled under by the colorful blanket of lust and tiredness beginning to creep over his flesh.

Gerard drew his fangs out from Frank's wound, gasping from the loss of blood, and he tightly gripped Frank in his hand as he paused in his pumping that with grant Frank another pleasure bringing him to the brink of bliss so intense, he couldn't handle it.

"As I love you, mon humain. Mon seul veritable amour." Gerard moaned out between his heavy breaths, and his voice was a drag of gravel against satin from the thickness of blood coating his throat. He dived in as Frank lifted his hips towards his mouth, wishing to feel nothing but pleasantness as he was overcome by color.

When he lost himself, his body shattered into pieces, coming heavily and making noises unknown to his own ears losing their sharpness of hearing. It was an orgasm given to him from heaven, he swore he felt the holy hands of angels caressing him as he came into Gerard's hand. It was like submerging into a deep body of water, everything became muddled and faint, until Frank's eyes shut and refused to open up once again. His body was ringing from sensation, the pleasured sounds from his vampire fading away, and he finally went limp as his final breaths were leaving his lips through a heavy veil of unconsciousness.

The vampire feeding from the human was aware of his lover falling under death's spell in slow progression. When his consciousness left his body and he felt Frank slacken underneath him after he came, Gerard felt tears of blood welling in his eyes. Thickness of such blood tinted his vision red and his fangs slotted out from the bite he pursued. He wept over Frank's body, knowing he would need to kill him, but so unwilling to do it. Licking the blood away from his lips, he tightly shut his eyes, reminded himself that Frank would come back to him, and bit into his flesh again. The flood of blood was drinking heaven's nectar in a burst of thirst quenching sensation, but the heavy sadness falling into the pit of his gut made blood tears splatter all over Frank's skin.

His heart was so frail, barely beating, but the warmth of his human continued to thaw the coldness of his own immortal flesh. He cried and trembled, drawing out the remains of Frank's blood until the stream thinned out into mere drops, and the beating of Frank's heart stopped. He felt his lover die in his arms, heard the last puff of air coming from his precious lips, and it was enough for Gerard to tear his mouth away from Frank's flesh with a gasp. Blood smeared across the lower half of his face and stained his lips, making him feel like the epitome of a monster as he hovered over his dead human. Seeing him without a burst of red in his gorgeous lips, without the flush of youth in his cheeks, it made Gerard choke back a sob of despair. Knowing Frank would come back didn't help the agony in his heart from seeing his love dead below him.

"Oh,  _mon_ _humain_ , my sweet lover." Gerard cried softly. picking up Frank's body with gentle hands and cradling him close to his chest. "I wish death wasn't the way to give you all you ever wanted. My love, my sweet . . ."

Frank felt cold without a drop of blood to spare in his body. He was limp, his head rolling to the side, covered in stains of blood and wounds Gerard couldn't stand gazing at as he gave one last kiss to Frank in his human form. He brushed a curl of silky chocolate brown hair away from Frank's peaceful pace and gently laid him back. He closed the wounds with his venom, his tongue gliding softly over the wounds until they healed. He wept quietly, rubbed his blood red tears away from his face.

Dressing Frank in proper clothes after his had been stained and torn, Gerard struggled to keep his sobs inside of his chest while feeling the coldness of the cheek once so warm under his yearning fingers. Frank remained  beautiful in death, but the gorgeous glow of his olive toned skin was robbed from him, the rosy plumpness of his lips vanished and the sweetness of living breath gone from his lungs. Without the thumping of his heart always in earshot, everything was deathly silent.

Gerard dressed himself properly and scooped his human into his arms as delicately as possible. He carried him out of the room, knowing well where he'd take him to await for his awakening. As if the vampires in the manor knew what the four walls of Frank's chambers had witnessed, Mina and Aura awaited him at the end of the hall. Forlorn were their eyes landing on drained and lifeless Frank, but a smile greeted Gerard at the end, knowing he would rise again to be circled in Gerard's embrace.

He'd rest in the chapel room among the angels where he belonged. For now, the grace of holy walls would guide him back to his body for him to awaken in a new age where he could belong to Gerard forever. The room was alight with candles, the sweet smell of petals rising from the flowers decorating the cleared long table replacing the podium at the front of the room. Vampires slowly filed inside to watch Gerard carry Frank's body and rest his lover onto the table with gentle hands, handling his head with the most care out of every other part of him. Mina stood beside him with a rose in her hand, resting it atop of Frank's chest.

Reaching into his pocket, Gerard found the beads of the rosary he'd been holding onto. Pulling it out, he kissed the golden cross once holding the essence of Charlotte, now clinging to the spirit of Frank soon to return. He tucked it around his lover's neck, leaning down and kissing his cheek with feather light lips.

"And now, we wait." Gerard whispered.

Mina nodded slowly, the back of her hand stroking Frank's silken hair. "My sweet friend, we eagerly await your awakening."

"And your eternal friendship." Aura softly smiled, appearing beside Frank's resting place, and gently setting a lily on top of his folded hands.

There, under the eyes of God, the vampires took their places in the pews with their friends and lovers, counting the hours until Frank opened his eyes again. It was Gerard who never left his side, and he never would again.  
  


 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry for abandoning this fic! I left the website for a while in general, I suppose life caught up to me and this was one of the last things running through my mind. I'll paste the rest of the book very soon since it's finished already, I'm so sorry for keeping you all waiting on a baited breath. I also have some new material coming up that I hope you'll enjoy and see as a sincere apology from me to you. Much love. xo


	19. Love Will Keep You Warm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Transformation of any kind can make a person feel satisfyingly strange in their own skin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a little trivia fact; I loved writing this chapter.

Life. Simply being brought into this world and taking a first breath, the blood flowing through your veins keeping you alive as any other human being thrust into the world. Life and living differed from each other in terms of values, of adventures, of the memory book creating the story of each individual person. Blood and oxygen are what make a vessel human, what makes everyone similar to one another in the eyes of science, but one thing was certain, and it was that living was not the same as being alive. The chain of life was a mirage of colors touching, but not blending into one another, only briefly sharing similar identification through flesh and blood, eyes and teeth, working organs churning inside the costume of skin overlaying the true identity of the soul. Beauty and vanity are shields covering the blackness of makeshift insides coming from memories forcing the soul to succumb to the dark of pain, while ugliness in the vision of the human eyes could conceal a soul as light as the sun raining streaks of pitiful sunshine down onto us all to give our pores a chance to soak it in. The star in the sky prayed to God that its brilliant rays could cleanse the poor souls of the broken, but God never answered, as God continued to betray and save the cards of human lives upon His palms.

Living was loving. Living was being loved in return, touching the lives of friends in need, healing hands none of us realize we carry with us until a tearful thank you came from the sweet lips of damaged souls bandaged from the force of our own comfort. Living was fighting against the black, crawling from the holes sucking our bodies in, living was supporting ourselves and those around us. Breathing, the awareness of blood and skin and bones, it was only being alive. Life, though we treated it so cruelly as we destroy ourselves further for the benefit of pain, was an undeniably puzzling experience for every person in the human race.

Feeling life slip away when the undoing of its ties was out of love, it was peaceful. Frank felt the heavenly hands of angels pulling him from the darkness he awoke in, finding himself floating through the place between life and death without sight, without sound, but nothing alarmed him. Calmness, soft hands and warmth tickling the glowing inside of his soul, purity coming to him as it never had before. He felt himself being cleansed, mercy pressing palm-to-palm with him, until he was carried into the arms of an angel awaiting him. He wasn't aware of his limbs when he floated away into the bliss of the afterlife, held steady by comfort nourishing him into oblivious calm.

Frank opened his eyes, finally seeing the whiteness of surroundings he could barely pay his attention to when his angel was the one guiding him, a version from when he was flesh and blood. Softened olive green eyes accompanied by mellow shadows he'd never seen in them before, pale skin a tint darker, bursting with youthful color and the small imperfections alien to him when Frank was so used to this beautiful face. Soft lips a berry stained shade of pink kissed his forehead, his eyebrows, and gentle hands entangled in his hair.

"Die for me, Frank." Gerard whispered. The velvet was missing from his voice, a heart was thrumming in a chest filled with life,  _human_  life. Frank never thought he would see Gerard as a human, and viewing him now, he realized he had always been so incredibly beautiful.

"Aren't I already dead?" Frank kissed his lips, human and pliant against his own. Gerard kissed him back, floating with him, a glowing aura wrapped around him proving to Frank that he was only a heavenly vision given to him as a gift when the real man couldn't be with him.

"Your body is." Gerard whispered to him, caressing Frank's cheek with warmth shining in his eyes. "But you need to guide your soul back to it. I await for you there, my precious human." Warm fingers felt unfamiliar, but welcome upon Frank's face, the roughness of fingerpads stroking over his cheekbone and the oddity raised goosebumps all over his flesh.

"I don't know how." Frank whispered with sadness, filled with yearning to unite with his vampire back inside of a world a part of another dimension away from the one bathing him in the whiteness of forgiveness releasing him from the human urges of his repent. He loved Gerard, he felt his touch here, but his destiny laid within another time, another place, another form of his vampire.

"Close your eyes." Gerard quietly guided Frank, and he did as told, his lids fluttering shut. "Think of me, think of our last moment together, feel everything you felt then."

Frank could remember everything as clearly as when he lived in the moment, the sensations ghosting along his skin and wrapping around him like gentle fingers casting him into another time in which he felt complete. Velvet lips, the bitterness of blood, like a form of being made love to as death danced along the dark spots covering his vision until he faded completely under the demanding yet loving mouth of his vampire taking his life so tenderly. Gerard skin melted into his for the first time, and as he weakened under the control of stroking hands luring him into the spell of death for one moment, the first stage of the transformation began.

With kisses upon his eyelids from an angel taking the form of his lover to guide him, Frank felt the embrace of life enveloping him and the golden aura tying him to a heaven he wasn't made to resort to, floating back into the entity of time with the sensation of tipping back into the unknown filling him to the brim. He allowed gravity to care for him, hearing the strange, echoing sound of an unintelligible voice bouncing across the boundaries of each universe. He was suddenly snapped back into where he belonged, an alarming sensation of being thrown backwards, but making on contact with a harsh surface with deep whiplash as the rubber band of time snapped.

Eyes snapping open, first breath being taken, ears ringing with the vengeance of being deaf for so many moments—Frank had been reborn.

The fluorescent lights of multicolored glass cast beams over a caved ceiling, beams of wood supporting the foundation of the church and beholding the murals of angels dancing along the walls, images Frank had never seen before. A film of dust fluttered through the air above his nose, but the room smelled of roses, the burning wax of candles surrounding where he laid to keep his skin warm. The tiniest of fissures in the walls, the distorted colors of the four boundaries differing from each other due to age, the grains inside of the glass painted with holy images, suddenly became the only things Frank's new eyes could behold as they had never seen anything so sharply before. The first thing coming to his senses was the amazement at the renewed vision, the clearness of his eyesight drinking in the specks of dust colliding with the beams of color leaking into the room.

Awakening had been something he only dimly knew about. The transformation into another being, the difference of himself and how utterly strange he would feel. One thing he hadn't prepared himself for was the thirst he would feel; the brand new, all too consuming spark of pure hunger flooding into his very soul immediately. Suddenly, there was no time to pay attention to the smaller details of this new life his mind had yet to process. Inside of him, he felt desolate. Dried, abandoned by precious blood and the sweet preservation of his force of life keeping him veiled from the nature of thirsting for what once flowed through his own veins.

It wasn't dryness of the tongue, or the roof of his mouth as Frank's body when he was human. No cramped muscles, no dry throat in need of water to slide through the tissue to soothe it. This was further than desire, it was pure, burning  _need_. The great pain of his veins rubbing together, the inner linings of his limbs shrinking in on themselves as venom gnawed away at the tissue and the cells, it was the madness of pain causing teeth as sharp as needles to slice through his sorely prepared bottom lip. Fangs, sliding out from his gums with a burst of pain, caused his body to arch, a hiss coming from the pit of his core sliding through clenched teeth. He smelled it now;  _blood_ , sweet and thick, the temptation of a heart thumping loudly with human life promising the sedation to his hunger shredding his body into pieces from the inside. It was the wafting smell of food to a man dying from starvation, a temptation so undeniably irresistible, more than anything he'd ever craved through his entire span of life.

Heavy breaths pumped through Frank's chest until they ebbed into growls belong to a predator, and in that moment, he became one as the disturbing demand for blood lifting his body from its place drove him mad. He saw everything in perfect detail as he moved with a speed once impossible for him to move at, his own body carrying him to the source of the delicious smell splintering his sanity, until his hands met with the warm flesh of an unconscious human girl limply seated on one of the pews beside another sleeping man filled with just as much thirst quenching blood running through his veins. Her flesh was soft as silk, almost hot to the touch as it seeped through the coldness of his incredibly pale fingers once a shade of tan.

Frank landed harshly on his knees, taking her with him, and followed the instinct peeling away all the layers of his past humanity to renew him as a whole. His teeth sunk into her tender flesh like it was the fresh layer of an apple, a divine crunch into her skin, as blood burst into his mouth in a spray as his fangs pierced the main vein twitching under her skin. She remained unconscious, but a quiet noise of pain vibrated in her chest. Frank felt it quivering in her blood, the stream of the heavenly substance leaking into his body. He moaned in pure greed from the taste of something so sweet and thick leaking violently into his mouth, the touch of salt gracing his tastebuds. He gulped down her precious blood and relished in the heat of human flesh too fragile to be possible pressing into his own as his bruising gripped latched onto her arms. The warmth of blood quickly entered his own body, blooming under his skin and filling his veins, an ethereal rejoicing as his insides came alive from the preciousness of the human's blood yanking him away from the brutal pain of being made of nothing at all. It was heaven, dare he say erotic as he sucked the last droplets into his mouth and listened to each of her breaths grow ragged until they completely dissipated. The taste excited him, the power a divine force taking control of every inch of his new body.

When she was run dry, Frank ripped away from her with a gasp, lapping at the blood smeared around her wounds. She was dead, a corpse limp in his arms, but he had yet to be fully satisfied. Frank dropped her to the ground, seeing the man still living beside him, but he froze up upon the touch of a hand at the back of his head. His nose captured a scent he hadn't caught previously, but the smell of it sent his body into a rigid posture. Hissing with blood dripping from his lips, he whirled around, shielding his meal going untouched behind his body. With sharpened senses and a mind clearing away the fog from rebirth, Frank immediately looked into the glistening gaze of a man he loved with every inch of his soul now tainted by the darkness, and at the lingering instinct standing bolder than ever in his heart twitching from the blood bringing his body to a functioning state, he was weakened by love, the recognition of love staring back at him.

"My love." Gerard breathed first. Blood tears rimmed his eyes so intense in Frank's new vision, every single speck and shade of color in his irises could be seen from a distance where Frank's human eyes would have needed to be incredibly close to view it all. The bow of his lips quivered softly, gazing deep into Frank's eyes, the new vampire drinking everything in at once. Gerard was slumped in relief, his face softened by love, and the pair reached out for each other in a sped frenzy fueled by their supernatural abilities.

"Gerard, my vampire." Frank cried softly, under the spell of his own voice familiar and yet so different as it sounded like it had been wrapped in thick velvet, smoothed over by angels, the same tone Gerard's had. His vampire shivered from the sound of him speaking as he caressed Frank, embraced him, kissed his eyelids and his forehead with trembling lips.

"You've awakened. Oh, my sweet, how I waited for you." Gerard took Frank's hands into his own, gazing deep into his new eyes. Frank could see the individual hairs of Gerard's eyelashes, the direction of the hairs in his eyebrows as well, and the sweet tones of pink hidden under his skin. The soft curve of his lips was a temptation, the soft lines imbedded into his smooth bottom lip meant for a kiss. Frank wanted to touch him, to kiss him, to lay with him, but the remains of human blood clinging to the sweetness of Gerard's breath stung Frank's system like a harsh winter chill of reality. Frank's sharpened fangs stuck out from his parted lips, the whisper of a growl darkening his gentle façade.

Gerard pulled away from Frank, his expression twisting into stony seriousness, but the gentle touch in his eyes had Frank following his vampire as he lead him to the unconscious male laying over the maple wood of the pew. Frank's blinding hunger was unleashed once again as the noise of his heart pumping blood in his veins, sweet blood calling to him like an alluring siren promising the cure to all of his lingering pain.

"Drink. Your transformation isn't complete until you are fully satisfied by blood." Gerard lead Frank to the limp human filled with such a substance holding the answer to Frank's unrelieved hunger.

Frank nodded and knelt down in front of the man swiftly, shutting out the fluttering thoughts finally registering inside his mind to allow his hunger to take control. Once it did, the soreness of the second row of fangs slipping out from his gums once again was only slight, and if it did bring him pain, all of it was eradicated by the heat of blood gushing into his desperate mouth the moment his teeth broke into the tender flesh of the man's throat. As a human, he never imagined himself becoming another being thirsting for blood, feeling how every piece of him would do anything for a sip of the heavenly scent of it radiating off of other people. He never felt how fragile humans could be until his teeth slipped into skin so easily, his fingertips bruising soft skin in shades of purple from the grip he had on limp arms of his victims. The taste of blood once coopery and bitter, now tasted like the finest nectar filling his mouth, savored as it slid down his throat and brought him back to a state similar to being alive, and yet, so powerfully different from it.

Gerard knelt behind Frank, stroking his hair, kissing the back of his neck and encouraging him to bleed to human dry for his own well being. Frank held the weight of blood in his mouth until he swallowed all of it down, sucking out the last few thin strings escaping the wound, and pulling away with a sharp gasp when the human was dead. The man's corpse fell to the ground, gray and lifeless, but none of Frank's concerns centered around the dry bodies surrounding him when he felt the silk of Gerard's fingertips, the rose petal softness of his lips. He whirled around, lips dripping with blood, and pinned Gerard against the pew to claim his mouth in a hungered kiss his oversensitive body urged him to steal from the vampire when all blood was gone and everything revolving around him was  _Gerard_.

Gerard grunted from the impact of the wood hitting his back, lips spreading apart, and Frank took the opportunity to curl his fingers into Gerard's shirt and lean into him, kissing him as deeply as he pleased with the warmth of blood surrounding their mouths. His vampire moaned shakily from the blissful taste, peeling their lips apart in a breath of space to pant heavily. His tongue peeked out, tracing all along Frank's lips in such a sensual motion that left Frank shivering and melting atop of him even if he knew it was only for the taste of sweet blood covering him. He gasped, grasping Gerard's hands, shocked from the warmth of sunshine upon them when he grew accustomed to the cold. He was cold as well now, a creature created from love and beauty, but darkened by this lust for blood and for the flesh. Everything was heightened—sensation, especially, as Gerard sucked his bottom lip gently with a velvet tongue rubbing over sensitive lips still stained with dribbles of human blood, tugging with his sharpened teeth, leading Frank closer to him to grasp the sides of his face with hands softer than ever before. Hyperactive, sexually driven, overflowing with the searing touch of love as it had never filled him so intensely before, Frank was no longer a fragile human.

"My sweet love," Gerard panted against Frank's open lips now clean of blood, "I waited for your beautiful eyes to open for days. You were gone so long that I feared you may have left me forever, but the stillness of your flesh proved you would come back for me."

"I would never leave you." Frank ran his fingers through Gerard's hair like threads of thin silk, moving them across his jawline, touching his lips and drinking in the silken texture of them stained from the blood smeared between their kissing mouths. "I will always find my way back to you. My precious vampire, I love you, I love you so . . ." Frank was close to weeping, trembling against him, completely overtaken from this bubbling heat and hysterical romance stirring under renewed flesh. Frank sobbed softly, clinging to Gerard, and he looked up at his vampire helplessly, asking for answers to these emotions with his eyes.

"Our bond." Gerard gripped Frank's hands, lifting them both to his lips to kiss them with eyes filled with melting romance and speckled with brown tones of understanding, reaching into Frank's very soul like attentive fingers keeping him sane. "I created you, I fed you our love through my blood, our lips touched before you died in my arms. You are mine forever."

"I can feel you." Frank choked out, overrun with pure awe and love as he touched his chest, felt the faint beating of it finally jolting back to life after being fed. "I feel you here, I feel you in my veins, you're  _everywhere_."

"And your blood remains warm and nurturing inside of me," Gerard pulled Frank into his lap, kissing his lips with a feather light embrace, "I can still taste you if I close my eyes and acknowledge your presence running through my veins."

Frank shut his eyes as Gerard explained it all to him, and he could immediately feel the warmth of Gerard inside the very center of his heart, keeping him alive, as if the heat from his touch was extracted from his very fingertips and shot into the flow of blood so new in his veins abandoned by what once made him human. He whimpered softly, opening his eyes and seeing his love as the most exquisite creature to have ever lived. He glowed in his eyes, the beauty of the waves of dark hair surrounding his porcelain pale face marvelous enough to be one of the seven wonders of the world. Gerard's nose, upturned and slightly pointed at the end, pressed against Frank's as he leaned in unconsciously. His fingers touched his face, tracing the curve of his cheekbones under his pale skin, reaching the curve of his lips to the flattened curve of his chin soon arching out into the perfect shape of his soft jawline. He smelled like something Frank couldn't explain with physical objects. All he inhaled was sweetness, blood, a compelling underlining of something causing Frank's mouth to water with a tingling substance. Venom.

"How do you feel?" Gerard brushed the back of his hand over Frank's neck, fingers soon moving upwards to slide through his locks of dark brown hair.

"New. Powerful. But I still feel like . . . like myself, underneath it all." Frank caught sight of his own hands, shocked to see the skin bone white and all signs of previous scars and tiny freckles smoothed out and erased. He brought them in front of his face, sharp eyes taking in the flawless skin on the insides of his palms, his fingers, how gracefully they rotated without any effort as he flipped them around to read the insides and his wrists. His veins were silver where they once thudded blue under the skin at his wrists. He hadn't noticed it in Gerard before.

"How beautiful you've become." Gerard's fingers caressed Frank's jaw, an otherworldly touch bringing shivers of heavy desire into Frank's veins now thudding with the strongest, most undeniable want to have Gerard touch him all over. It wasn't sexual, but the highest tier of love no human could ever imagine reaching. It was like his body was made for the push and pull of Gerard's hands. His vampire was now his creator.

"Am I as beautiful as you are now?" Frank's spark of intrigue mildly distracted him from the overpowering urge to kiss Gerard again.

"You are more beautiful than any vampire that walks among us." Gerard's hands rested on Frank's hips, pulling him close, and the vampire in his arms submissively melted under his hold. Gerard's eyes burned with passion and fascination as they traced each of Frank's features as if for the first time. "You have always been the most gorgeous man in my eyes, but now . . . I can hardly speak looking at you."

Frank would have blushed if he were human. He mindfully refused the statement as he knew Gerard was the most beautiful out of them all, but curiosity building high couldn't be denied to long. He kissed Gerard for a long moment to get the romance bubbling inside him to soothe itself, moving their lips slowly in a passionate tandem, and against Gerard's mouth, he whispered, "Let me see myself."

Gerard swiftly gathered Frank into his arms, lifting him with an unpracticed grace, and he held Frank close to him as he carried him to the alter Frank rose from. He kissed Gerard's cheeks, heavily in a daze from the strength of their connection living like a second soul inside him, and almost clung to him when Gerard placed him back on his feet. Had it not been for the hand mirror Gerard lifted from the table covered in rose petals, Frank would have done so.

"I brought this here knowing you would want to see your appearance as a vampire." Gerard held out the mirror to him, thick ropes of iron framing the oval glass facing upwards so beams of colorful light from the church windows bounced off of it.

Frank gently took it, a piece of him weary of what he would see there. He knew his skin was pale and Gerard told him of the breathlessness of his beauty, but he still wasn't fully aware of what to expect when he caught sight of a gorgeous vampire staring back at him in the mirror. He drew it close with caution, fingers tight over the handle of the mirror.

"Is it a huge difference?"

Gerard smiled gently at him and it sang in Frank's veins. "Vampirism enhances beauty. It doesn't alter it. And you have always been beautiful, my love."

Frank slowly guided the mirror closer to him. Taking in a breath and tasting the smells surrounding him inside of the church ghosting across his tongue, and he brought the mirror in front of his face. As soon as his eyes captured the sight of his face, a gasp wedged into his throat. He watched his own eyes widen and his lips part from the shock of seeing himself in a new state. As he knew, his skin no longer had the olive toned flesh tinged with tones of pink around his cheeks, but he hadn't expected perfection out of the paleness. The scar near his eyebrow vanished, the tiny freckles barely visible on his nose disappeared, and the scars from his piercings from the past vanished. His eyelashes were long and thick over electric hazel eyes with thrumming pupils, specks of gold and green flying inside the swirling irises. His eyebrows were smoothly arched and thin, no stray hair lingering along the shape of them. His lips were smooth, softened and the lightest shade of pink, the arch of his top lip perfect as he glided his finger across it with a ghosting touch. His hair was filled with luster, soft curls of chocolate brown hair curtaining around his pale face. His eyes were as deeply alive as Gerard's were even if the white of his skin told another tale, hypnotizing to look in as the hazel inside them bewitchingly rich and filled with light.

"I never really thought I was beautiful." Frank whispered, touching his skin. Soft, not a single flaw tainting it. "It feels so strange thinking that I am now."

Gerard appeared behind him in the mirror. Frank felt his presence like roiling waves of sunshine soaking into his layers of flesh, the charge in the air wrapping around them just the same as Gerard's arms embraced Frank's middle from behind. He was pulled into his body and Gerard gazed into Frank's eyes in his reflection, expression construed of love and a hint of a smile.

"The sight of heaven for a darkened soul such as mine." Gerard turned his head, lips skimming Frank's neck slowly, but never breaking eye contact. "Almost like you are my saving grace."

Frank nearly melted into a puddle of ivory skin and bone from the delicate kisses being touched to his neck. His tattoos remained somehow, faded, but the outline of them was visible enough to put Gerard's lips into a trance. His vampire kissed the scorpion inked there, slowly and deeply, lips moving over the sensitive flesh until Frank was shivering, a tiny moan being released. Frank watched in fascination as a curl of darkness rolled into the color of Gerard's eyes darkening them with the power of desire like a drop of black was spilled into pools of green. Gerard's hand trailed up Frank's body, now near his throat, caressing him and holding him against his chest until his lover was being driven mad by the kisses at his throat.

"Please . . ." He whispered. Frank wasn't sure what he pleaded for when his lower regions gave no normal reaction as he came to reluctantly realize. And yet, there was still arousal, the spill of heated blood in all of his insides, stirring under new skin more intensely than it could have when he was human.

"We must wait." Gerard whispered into his ear. He dropped his eyes from Frank's gaze in the mirror to shut his eyes, pressing his nose to Frank's hair as he stilled to calm himself.

Frank slowly lowered the mirror back onto the table to shift in the embrace of his vampire, stamping their lips together to keep himself going for the time between getting priorities away until the time Frank was allowed to get Gerard into his bed once more. Vampire erotica was only dimly known to him, the sensations yet to be discovered had Frank digging his fingers into the material of Gerard's skin until a faint rip was heard from the strength he had yet completely get used to.

"I'm sorry." Frank breathed, a giggle escaping him as the pair looked down at the slit now tearing the threads of Gerard's shirt.

"You have plenty to come to terms with, my love." Gerard grinned, pale lips over small teeth and fangs. "Come with me. The others have been impatiently awaiting your awakening."

__

Frank had been blissfully unaware of the scent of vampire blood mixing into the essence of burning candles and freshly blooming roses from the outside, the strong smell of grass growing from the soil kissed by rain falling from the sky. If he listened close enough, the pitter-patter of rain falling onto the skylight of glass in the manor overlapped the sound of petals brushing against one another as they began to come to life, the snapping and tiny explosions of embers from the fireplace filling him with warmth despite being rooms away from it. As Gerard led him down the hallways slowly to allow him to process the new senses tapping into his mind, a small smile kept to his face, one Frank kept glancing back at as if he meant to ask his vampire if he heard the same things he did.

Entering a sitting room different from the one they usually hosted their talks, Frank caught sight of Mina gently running her fingers over the keys of a grand piano as Aura draped herself across a lounge chair with her back against Marius's chest, the man twisting her hair into larger curls with lazy movements of his fingers. The rest of the vampires sat around the chairs, listening to Mina's song, until all eyes snapped up to resonate on Frank standing in the doorway as his fingers interlocked with Gerard's.

"He's awake!" Mina shot up from the piano bench. Her flitting movements towards Frank were a glide he couldn't detect with his human eyes, a graceful movement of her legs as she used her speed to stand in front of Frank with a wide grin smoothed over onto her lips painted with glittering gloss to match the pearly long dress adorning her frame.

"He awakened only moments ago, he's fed and the transition is complete." Gerard stood behind him, kissing his shoulder softly as he untangled their fingers for Mina to take both of Frank's hands into her own.

"Oh, we waited for this for days, we were worried something went wrong." Mina breathed in relief and the statement caught Frank's attention.

"Days? How many?" Frank's eyes lifted away from Mina's face as a crowd of vampires stepped forward, all with smiles of their own on their pale faces.

"Six." Aura floated forward to stand beside Mina. "The awakening takes one or two days at the most, from what we've all seen. Gerard refused to leave your side, but he was beginning to grow sick with worry."

"You must have had a hard time finding your body again." Alexander, a vampire towards the back, interjected smoothly.

Frank's interest sparked. "Did you?"

Alexander nodded once. "I kept them all calm by reminding them that my awakening took four days. By being drained, you die, and finding your body once more can be a trick."

Frank only dimly recalled the warm hands of an angel guiding him into a scene of white, whispering to him that he needed to return to earth to be with his vampire. He wondered if it was possible to remain in the clouds without ever being guided back into the vessel awaiting in another realm to take a new breath.

"We are so glad you're awake." Mina squeezed Frank's hands, letting them go to softly pinch his cheek instead in a way that made his eyes widen from the excepted gesture. "How beautiful you are! So similar to an angel."

"Thank you." Frank meekly turned away, searching for Gerard's hand once again. His fingers brushed silky skin and the fingers belonging to his vampire tangled with his own, gripping firmly as his thumb swirled over the back of his hand.

"How do you feel?" Marius asked him.

"Was the blood any good?" Laila asked, quirking her eyebrows a smirk as she sank down onto the armrest of one of the chairs Raven occupied.

Frank looked down at himself, noticing every single stitch in his clothing and the grooves running deep in the wooden floorboards beneath his feet. He could hear every breath in the room and the lingering smell of blood clinging to the vampire brushed his nose.

"Everything is so much more intense. I see and hear everything, and I feel like . . . I don't feel like myself. Not in a negative way, I feel so light and indestructible." Frank looked down at his hands, and glancing back at Laila, a tiny smile surfaced. "And the blood was the most delicious thing I've ever consumed in my life."

The fair haired vampire squealed, grinning wide as she clapped her hands together.

"We are so happy that you've joined us." Mina smiled, reaching out to softly touch Frank's arm. "We knew Gerard would give in."

"Anything for my love." Gerard whispered, a warm swirl of air against Frank's ear, and the new vampire shivered from the sensation, tingling all over as he felt the charge from the minimal space between us.

"But," Aura interjected in her soft voice, and a slight frown dissolved the smile from her face, "we have news."

Frank tensed, as did Gerard standing close behind him.

"Aura, I think we should wait." Gerard spoke too quickly, voice dipped in sharpness adding to Frank's immediate alertness. "He's just woken up, he deserves to salvage some happiness before he's bombarded with bad news."

"Bad news?" Frank slowly twirled around on his heels, gazing up at his vampire with wide eyes. Gerard realized his mistake and his jaw tightened, regret staining the smile once brightening his angelic face.

"Darling," Mina whispered to Frank, gently tugging his arm until he turned again to face her, "there is something you must know. We have such little time, the news was delivered as soon as you were laid to rest at the chapel."

"Mina." Gerard pleaded, almost desperate to grapple onto the moment of light serving as an interlude to an overbearing load of darkness swallowing up the coven of vampires anxiously waiting for the words to be spoken, for Frank's reaction to them.

"Two days, Gerard." Mina looked Gerard in the eye, a hard stare with gentleness softening the edges of her dark irises glittering like jewels as she held his gaze to assert the urgency of the matter. Frank looked between them, a spring of irritation pricking his ribs like cold fingers when he was left out on something seeming so gravely important.

"One of you has to tell me." Frank cut between the thickness of the silence. Gerard tore his gaze from Mina to transfer it to the ground, losing the stiffness in his limbs as he succumbed to the power of Mina's convincing gaze pleading him his allowance to tell Frank the truth. Gerard wrapped his fingers around Frank's, holding him close, as Mina sucked in a breath to let it go with a fluttering sigh.

"We've received an invitation to a ball here in London." Mina went to retrieve a black envelope half torn from its violent opening on the table in the room. She returned to Frank and handed him the mysterious paper object with what felt like a card inside, a sliver of a black ribbon peeking out from the top. Frank slipped out the black card tied together with a neat ribbon, swirls on the front beside cursive lettering cordially inviting the person the envelope was handed to into a grand castle in London for a masquerade ball. Opening the card, Frank was overwhelmed by the sharp scent of old blood used as the red ink scratched along the inside, finding looped letters coming together, and as he deciphered each of the words, every functioning part inside of him ran cold. He smelled it now—the sickeningly sweet smell of skin, the lingering brush of satin and silk from the material of a dress clinging to the arms and the body of the person putting the invitation together as a mocking act of terror upon each of the vampires standing together inside the room.

"Lindsey is here in London." Mina swallowed hard, capturing Frank's gaze frozen in horror. "And she knows you are here as well."  
  
  


 


	20. Forgiveness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things have shifted so suddenly that a part of Frank wonders if he should believe all he sees.

"How is it possible that she found us?" Frank tossed the taunting invitation back into its place with ice encasing his hands, a frigid cold affecting him all the way down to the bone. He may have felt stronger, but the weakest link of his humanity lingered as his soul hadn't been ripped free, and that link was the inevitable rust of fear. 

"Lindsey has many ways of knowing things. It is possible that she got into touch with a witch to track you both." Mina's otherwise soft voice was tinted with the horrific emotion of fear, the evidence so clear in her dark eyes that Frank felt his unease worsen. He pondered if Lindsey had used such a method before, the thought inserting further anxiousness into his rigid stature. 

"We can't go to this ball." Frank whirled around abruptly, finding Gerard reaching out for him as he sensed from the push and pull of the newfound gravity between them.

"If we want to save Jamia and find justice, then we must attend." Gerard's silken voice glided along the jagged rocks of Frank's inner turmoil, a contrast leaving Frank melting into a sea of calm the instant he was met with the softness.

"This could be a trap. What if the rest of the people she invited are just part of her army so she can kill us all?" Frank's voice lowered a considerable amount compared to his anxious shouts flung out into the open, but the unevenness for his words took away the charming new satin film to his voice.

"A wicked being such as Lindsey wouldn't put on a show so grand only to kill us as soon as we step in." Marius smiled without a trace of humor in the hard lines of his handsome face. 

"She wants to play." Laila rose from her seat, the material of her long red dress pooling at her feet. "This ball is going to be her playground."

"This is her way of torturing us, isn't it?" Frank could imagine the grin splitting blood soaked lips belonging to the evil woman playing with the race of vampires with all of the strings attached to her pale fingers clawed to attack. His skin crawled with the image, disgust turning his lips down into a grimace.

From the back of the room, Gerard's brother going mostly unnoticed vocalized his thoughts. "If Lindsey plans on getting whatever she wants, it would be safe for all of us to go, unlike what we've discussed." Michael suggested.

Frank's brow furrowed, eyes locking onto the vampire so similar to Gerard that it nearly ached to feel the remains of weariness towards him regarding the past. "What did you discuss?"

"That I take you with me, and only Mina and Aura would join us."  Gerard explained the brief plan organized while Frank laid in transition from human to vampire with a ghostly sensation of fear haunting his voice. He wondered if they all gathered together then as they did now, the quiver in their palms and fingers hidden from one another to portray bravery instead of allowing everyone to fall apart on one another.

Sparks flew in Frank's stomach. "What? That's absurd, we have Lindsey's entire coven to look out for."

"Lindsey hasn't seen Mina and Aura in decades. They would distract her using the bond between the creator and the creation to their advantage while we take Jamia and attack Lindsey while she's vulnerable." Gerard's eyes fell upon the women nodding along to his words with grave expressions on their faces. Frank could feel the negativity of their thoughts radiating from them, knowing neither one would to be faced with the cruel woman tearing apart their human lives to her own satisfaction.

"I know neither of you want to do this." Frank couldn't deny the plan would work astoundingly now that he witnessed the intensity of such a bond, but the hatred the two lovely vampires held for their creator eradicated all love possible the moment Lindsey's cruelties were unleashed.

"We don't." Aura confirmed, a heartbreaking quiver in her voice. "But to end this for good, to allow our coven to live in peace without a fear of her returning to slaughter us all, we would do  _anything_ for that."

Mina reached out, pain glistening in her eyes, until her hand landed atop of Aura's shaking one where it rested on her lap, her other hand occupied by the tangle of Marius's fingers gripping hers so tenderly. Frank could witness it now with fresh eyes and renewed senses, the richness of Mina's love for her best friend, the bittersweet obliviousness coming from the vampire beside her, and the possessive shadow of Marius hanging over her as if to silently claim the beauty desired by another. Frank's heart fell to the pit of his stomach watching the exchange so intense and yet so far from being direct, Frank felt invasive observing it. He knew well the feeling of despairing over the possible bloody fate of someone he loved. The three vampires would collapse in on themselves if they lost each other.

Frank turned to his vampire for the comfort the shell of his body craved even after such a small moment of being abandoned by the soft touch of his love, only endured to be discreet in front of an audience. Gerard sensed his longing before their eyes met and his hands reached out for Frank, resting at his waist to chase away the hurricane of emotions wreaking havoc on the sweet calm previously lifting him towards the clouds. Frank's lips met Gerard's throat briefly when he was concealed by a veil of silky black hair during the process of being pulled into his vampire's embrace, his loosely curled hands resting on Gerard's chest. 

"My mate and I crave a word alone together. I think perhaps the news was a bit much after his awakening." There was no bitterness in Gerard's voice, but the implication of his words left Frank wincing softly against the safety of his chest.   

"It's alright," Frank lifted his head to speak out, but his eyes attached to Gerard's gaze to silently tell him there was no sign of harm in the coven's intentions, "I would have needed to find out sooner or later."

"We should all take the time to talk to one another." Mina rose from her seat with careful movements, the eyes of Aura following her with a gleam of sadness sparkling alongside the darkness of her pupils. Frank carefully looked away and felt Gerard's hands situate themselves at his hips, a touch tentative enough to raise the hairs lining Frank's now flawlessly smooth skin. Peering up at his lover sparked with angst buried underneath, Frank was sprung into flight while in the embrace of Gerard, gliding through the halls of the manor and finding they'd returned to his vampire's chambers in a matter of seconds. Unlike when he was human, he didn't find himself shocked by the sudden appearance of different surroundings, he found comfort in the blur of the earth around them as he'd concentrated on Gerard's eyes while being carried in his arms.

Frank was also prepared for the passionate kiss being planted atop of his parted lips the moment they were alone once more. Soft lips and the prickle of sharpened teeth clicking gently against his own fangs resting sore inside his gums, the delicate dance of lips moving against one another in a desperate manner coming from Gerard's behalf—as if he feared Frank would disintegrate if he didn't kiss him. He'd be swept underneath the overwhelming passion of soft lips so perfect against his own if it hadn't been for the underlining desperation tickling against his sense of the unusual. Gerard was a man of sensuality as Frank had witnessed for himself during their private moments, never one to cling and shove Frank against the back of the door as he did just now. 

Frank pried his lips away from underneath the moving, pliant pair eager to consume his taste with a mighty deal of effort battling against the stirring desire pooling in his gut. With a soft gasp, he listened to Gerard whimper, his eyes wide open and the pupil expanding to eat away at the murky green surrounding the ball of black. The saddened shadow of his eyebrows solidified the fear he'd concealed the entire time, even when he awaited for Frank to awaken from his transformation into one of his own kind. Frank only longed for angelic tranquility to float among those ethereal lilypads boring past his own gaze to warmly brush against his renewed soul. It seemed that, despite Frank's form turning into a build able to withstand any strength used against him, Gerard ebbing terror remained like a poison inside his mind. 

"It's okay, my vampire." Frank shoved aside his pitiful worries to soothe his vampire with the dripping honey of his tone, finding it easy to soothe him now that his vocal chords were a clean slate void of any human-like roughness. His hands lifted to Gerard's face, stroking his hair away, sliding open palms down to the sides of his neck. 

"I know this is the only plan that will ring triumphant if we play it out," Gerard breathed, eyes fluttering shut, "but this places you in more danger than I'd originally thought."

Frank thumbs stroked over the exposed skin at Gerard's neck through the silken waves of dark hair, pulled apart by the brokenness in his vampire's voice. He was strong enough to draw walls around himself and the rest of the coven to make it appear he agreed to the plan sorted out by the vampires, but Frank watched it crumble before him in an instant. He knew it was his destiny to put out the burning fire when an echo of Gerard's painful stress flourished in his body like it was a lingering affect of his own. It was a link he'd never witnessed before. 

"I'm able to protect myself now, have you already forgotten?" Frank drew a smile to his face for Gerard to see, finding that the tug of his lips momentarily dazzled the vampire across from him. Hands gripped his waist, wrinkling the fabric of his shirt. 

"God knows if Lindsey will unleash an army against us." Gerard's eyes fell upon Frank's lips, a pale finger trembling the slightest bit lifting up slowly to trace the curve underneath his bottom lip. Frank shuddered from the silken touch so sensitive along his new flesh. 

"You have to trust me. I  _need_  you to trust me." Frank quietly urged, capturing Gerard's hand and bringing it to his lips to place kisses over the curves of his knuckles tinted the slightest shade of pale pink pretty under his ivory flesh. "I believe in you, all I ask is for you to have just as much faith in me."

Gerard was tortured by his uncertainty. It was obvious in his gaze, almost a stinging revelation to Frank who clung to each of his vampire's promises. He craved an equal amount of certainty, knowing he'd gone to the furthest length to assure his own safety and his love to Gerard, but a lingering thought pausing him from a scoff of disbelief was the reminder that Gerard had lost love once, he was only afraid of losing it again. Especially if his words remained true; he loved Frank an abundance more than he loved Charlotte. 

"Promise me that if, somehow, you are torn away from my arms, that you will find your way back to me." Gerard grasped both of Frank's hands within his own with a firm squeeze, eyes flaring with determination threatening to dip back inside the troublesome waters of desperation. 

"I promise." Frank whispered, his heart swelling so grandly, the weight of it filled the cavity of his chest. "I will always come back to you."

Nothing would be better to seal the words with than with a kiss. Soft lips being brushed against with fragility urging them to be careful with one another under the lingering feeling of such a distressing worry, only to melt away into the molding push of lips discarding the carefulness without completely eradicating all tenderness. Gerard's lips pouted against Frank's, parting once and warming further in the locking of their lips. Frank relished in the silk of Gerard's strands of hair falling between the cracks of his fingers as he crept his hands further into the locks to press him closer, the weight of Gerard's hands on his hips now tugging him closer for a harsher push against his mouth before he was pulling away. Their foreheads leaned against one another, their breath mingling in the small square of breath between their faces. Intimate moments like these were as immortal as the pair of them, leading to Frank treasuring them as much as he would their lives. 

"But now you have to promise me the same thing in return." The remaining uncertainty within the plan the vampire agreed to left Frank with a dry feeling in his mouth that didn't coincide with a thirst for blood. His fingers went to grip Gerard's hair, allowing a fragment of his guard to fall. "If anything happens to you, I don't know what will happen to me. I can be strong for you, I can survive for you, but I need you to do the same for me. I'll fall apart if you leave me."

Melting under the crumbling foundation of Frank's built strength revealing just how he quivered with silent terror on the inside, Gerard became a gorgeous enigma sweeping Frank into his arms, eyes intensely gazing into his own with the magnetizing force of the universe sucking Frank further into the warm velvet of his love. He shivered more from the ancient eternity seated behind Gerard's eyes placed inside them the moment he was turned, the breathtaking promise sealed to Frank without words being spoke as his vampire glided to the ethereal pliant bed sitting across the room, laying him across the covers with gentle precision and joining him to lay there in a silent stirring of communication. Frank's back slid against the thick comforter underneath him and he marveled against the cool slide of it skimming over his brand new skin.

"I promise to live for you, my sweet lover, but if anything is to happen to me . . ." Gerard's brief hesitation wavered Frank's contentment at the seal Gerard's gaze formed between them, no words written in blood being required for him to feel settled in the pit of his gut. It stirred uneasily now, turning his insides against themselves. 

"I refuse for there to be any what if's, Gerard, I can't bear to think about it." Frank squeezed his eyes shut to block out unpleasant possibilities he couldn't ever admit were very capable of happening. It brought the pain of sharpened spears piercing through the cold of his full heart, cracking through the exterior and pulling out the warmth of love safe inside to leave him barren and frozen in agony. 

"I hate to wound your glorious heart, but I plead for you to listen to me." Gerard's velvet voice took on a morbid role Frank hoped to steadily avoid. The whisper of pleading bringing gentle fingers under his chin to tip his face up weakened the solidified defense protecting his heavenly thoughts. Unfortunately, he'd come to realize long ago that it was impossible to stay secure in a bubble of mythical paradise. The dagger of the truth would either be taken into the hands of the beholder, or it would tear through delicate denial to leave behind a mess of glimmering carnage. 

Frank opened his eyes slowly, meeting Gerard's directly across from his line of vision. He whimpered softly at the look of forlorn darkness touching Gerard's expression as he composed the words he spoke next. 

"If one of us loses the other," Gerard swallowed, thick and appearing to be painful in the wince at his brow, "then the survivor must continue with his life. Not a life of darkness, of despair and unwillingness to go on, but a life filled with discovery, happiness, the pursuit to continue on no matter what an agonizing feat it is to carry on with such immense grief." 

The thought alone was worthy of a grimace bringing alarm into the eyes of Frank's sweet lover, unknown to the swirling irises outside of circumstances requiring immediate care, but the curse of worry was what he pleaded himself to extract from Gerard's mind. 

"I know your intentions, Gerard, but . . . what would I do without you?" Frank whispered to him. A future without his vampire at his side resumed the flames thrashing inside of him, a silenced inferno. He refused to attend to them while he kept himself certain they would end the reign of a vicious vampire and see it dissipate into the past together. 

"When we save Jamia, she will need you to guide her." Gerard urged softly, reminding Frank of other links he was needed in. "Could you let her go about on her own? Could you let her see you fall to pieces over the loss of myself when she needs strength as well?"

Frank couldn't argue at that point. Surely, Jamia was buried in the tidal wave of Lindsey's manipulation, and he was certain her state of mind couldn't have been stable while being held captive by a venomous coven. His motive throughout this journey was to gather his best friend and save her life, but he was lost in the haze of love locked inside a bond intense enough to shortly erase him from his thoughts. The binds between himself and Gerard would leave destruction in the wake of yanking one from another, but neither of them could afford losing sight of the rest if it meant other people were at stake. 

"I can't." Frank swallowed to soothe the sandpaper texture in his throat. "I know she needs me, I know that, but it's so easy to lose sight of that when just the  _thought_  of losing you hurts more than anything."

"I know, my love." Gerard cooed softly, reaching out to halo around Frank in his angelic embrace bringing holy comfort to a tormented host. "But we must do this for each other. I want you to live for me, only if God chooses to rip me away from this life. Finish what I could not."

"And you do the same for me, Gerard, you need to be the one to help Jamia and keep this coven from falling apart." Frank kissed the silken strands of hair in which he brushed away to have access to the soft curve of his vampire's jawline, finding his face was shifting to brush their lips and noses together during their moment of quietly sealing a future without one another if the world meant for it to be so. 

"Of course. I would do anything for you." Gerard's lips fluttered over Frank's lips while he spoke and pushed forward for a gentle kiss punctuating his sentence. Satin lips blushing with the fainest shade of pink, the curve of the top lip gentle enough to be perfection whenever it touched Frank's skin, no pair of lips would ever open up the core of Frank's body and fill it with millions of streams of silk warmed by sunlight to fulfill Frank of his craving for nourishment. It filled Frank with more determination to protect his vampire from abrasive wings of harm.

"Anything?" Frank whispered, stunned quietly inside of a growing kiss. 

"Cross the oceans with only myself to paddle through them, rip the sunlight from the sky to keep you warm in the bitterest winters, face an army of a thousand more vampires starved for blood." Gerard's fingers webbed across Frank's wrists, wrapping them around the soft skin and thin bone to guide Frank onto his back to hover above him like a flaming angel glowing with passion. Frank's breath hitched, his chest constricting, and his lips parted instantly at the kisses being stamped to his jawline until they edged close enough to his ear. 

"Anything." 

Frank whimpered aloud and pulled Gerard in for another kiss.  

 A string of light knocking at the door floated above the quiet sounds of their kissing lips. It interrupted their hands discovering one another from the crooks of their necks to the bones hidden under fleshy coverage of soft hips now equal in flawlessness when it came to a smooth canvas of pale flesh. Disconnecting their lips with a reluctant breath hanging from the tips of their tongues, they collected themselves quickly in order to appear decent for their visitor. Lacing their fingers together, they floated to the door as one, opening the wooden barrier to find their eyes met with a shocking discovery indeed. 

Michael stood at the doorway, nervousness clear in the fingers filtering through his hair more than once the moment the couple opened the door. Frank gave him a weary look, unsure of whether he should trust the vampire awaiting them. He looked to Gerard for answers. 

"Michael, what brings you here?" Gerard's tone remained as calm as clear waters collected from melted snow, but Frank felt his flare of defense at the middle of his spine, so close to being his own, leaving him stunned from the strength of their bond for a small moment. 

"I'm sorry to interrupt, but I was hoping that I could have a word with your mate." Michael's eyes pointed towards Frank, eyes similar to Gerard's in the shape and the life flooding inside them, but no pair of eyes could ever match the exquisite beauty in the elder vampire. 

"What for?" Gerard's shoulders grew tense. Frank studied them through a small surge of shock, coming to the conclusion that aside from the event that was Michael joining their coven, trust didn't come as easily as acceptance. The two differed greatly. 

"It's alright, Gerard." Frank interjected softly. He touched Gerard's arm with a gentle hand, his reassurance resting in his eyes for his vampire to find. He was certain the latter felt his hesitation lingering in his mind as he'd only interacted with Michael for extremely brief moments after he'd been drained by Lindsey. He hoped the tension would be put to rest if they spoke to each other privately. 

Gerard looked between the both of them twice before he slowly nodded. Frank silently thanked him with a smile for his consent, knowing Michael wouldn't need to speak to him if it weren't important. Stepping out of the room, Frank joined Michael in the hallway, and the two walked slowly through the hallway while Gerard gazed after them. 

"I won't lie and say I'm not surprised you wanted to talk to me personally." Frank admitted during their stroll becoming too quiet for comfort. Michael was still jittery with nerves, Frank's sharp eyesight catching each of the movements the millisecond they occurred. 

"It took a good deal of courage to ask. I was afraid Gerard wouldn't allow it." Michael chuckled breathlessly, eyes trained to his moving feet. 

"What did you want to talk about?" Frank wouldn't fall into an awkward pattern of small talk with an ebbing feeling of weariness not fading at the back of his skull the further they walked away from Gerard's chambers. 

Michael bit his bottom lip, a gleam of his fangs catching the light glowing down onto the hallways they walked through. He sighed, loosening up, and began to speak. "First and foremost, I owe you an apology."

The proposal of the matter at hand left Frank stunned. He halted in his pace with a smooth pause, watching Michael do the same immediately. He looked up at the lanky vampire with wide eyes filled with many questions. "An apology?"

Michael nodded in confirmation, guilt ringing through his almond brown eyes splashed with a touch of green at one iris. "I tormented you and my brother while you were with us. Lindsey, her persuasion is much too powerful, and I'm guilty of holding a grudge against Gerard for too long. Seeing Lindsey betray me has helped me find perspective, and I knew in that moment that I'd lost myself." 

Frank acknowledged his words with a nod, finding sincerity in each one falling between them. "I've heard part of the story. I can say that I know why you felt the way you did . . . you loved your mate and I can't imagine how hard it was to see her fall for your brother." 

Michael winced softly, but agreed nonetheless. "But it doesn't excuse my actions. I placed you in a position of terror to get under his skin. I knew from the moment he carried you into our home, there was something different in his eyes, in his voice. I didn't think he deserved to love anyone." 

"It wasn't only you who terrorized me . . ."

"I know this, but I was part of it, and I regret my actions. I hate the damage I've inflicted on you, on my brother, on everyone I've come across."

Frank pursed his lips, finding a running theme within these words holding great importance. "Well, Michael, have you told Gerard all of this?" 

Michael nodded, sighing once more as his hand slid through his light brown hair mussed up from the constant movement. "I have. He accepted my apology with a smile, but he has yet to trust me entirely yet."

Frank would be the same in a matter delicate and brand new in contrast to the unpleasantness of Michael's past behavior. He seemed to be honest in his hopes and apologies, but vampires were well at fooling others, Frank observed. 

"It'll take time." Frank said softly. "Gerard's a good man and I know he still loves you, you just need to prove to him that you're worthy of being trusted again."

"I plan to, I would do anything to win my brother back again. Once before, he was all I had, and I find myself in the same situation once again." Michael's eyes shone with sadness. "I can't take advantage of him." 

Frank softened at the core of his remaining apprehension. It hadn't dissolved entirely, but some faded off while watching Michael's expression fall around his sorrowful words. 

"I accept your apology. Thank you, I really appreciate it." Frank paused, adding an important segment, "But the same goes for me. I can't trust you entirely yet, but I can see that you have good intentions."

Michael's exterior lost tension at the relief filling his focused gaze. His lips smoothed over into a smile which he nodded through. "Thank you for that. And you should know that I think you make an exceptional mate for my brother. I never liked that Charlotte, but you bring something entirely different into his eyes when he looks at you." 

Frank lit up on the inside from the knowledge where he was blindsided as every lover was to the look their significant other gave them. He knew the deepness of Gerard's love, he felt it penetrating through his bloodstream and joining the borrowed blood keeping him alive as a river of silk, but a look in his eyes when he looked at Frank was another being just as wonderful as the feeling of their bond. Frank melted like butter internally at the acceptance doubled by the flattery, hoping he too would witness this look one day. 

"Thank you so much. I want nothing more than to make him happy." Frank beamed at the mere thought of Gerard who trapped him in a haze the shade of pink wine, causing the vampire across from him to smirk softly with a knowing look; Frank was truly in love with his brother. 

The two vampires returned to Gerard's chambers after they were finished with their conversation, finding Gerard awaiting for their return with a spike of anxiousness accelerating his approach to Frank. Frank's hands were enveloped in the caress of his vampire's hands reaching out for him as if they'd been apart for decade. Warmth unfurled in Frank as he smiled up at his vampire to reassure him that nothing chaotic had partaken in his conversation with his brother, even enlightening him to see all was more than well. 

"Sorry for stealing him for a moment." Michael smiled slightly at the two finding it so easy to become wrapped up in every second they shared with one another. 

"As long as all is well, I have no complaint to express." Gerard's voice was slightly breathy with the relief sprouting within him, channeling into Frank who even let out a breath of the same expression without fully controlling it. 

"But, if you don't mind, brother, I'd like to speak with you as well." Michael hesitantly interjected. Frank hid his smile by burying his face into Gerard's neck, inhaling the enticing scent exuding from him in a rich aroma that no other vampire would ever be able to detect. Frank's mouth watered with venom. 

"I'd like it if you listened to him." Frank whispered against Gerard's ear as a gentle encouragement. The tickle of his breath was the reason for the tiny tremor rolling through his vampire's body. Frank pulled away from him to smile with kindness in order to loosen up the tension present in his body, allowing him to know all was in the clear. Gerard looked mildly confused from the sudden change in Frank's attitude towards his brother, but he turned to acknowledge the younger vampire no matter that fact. 

"Let us speak, then." Gerard concluded, slowly moving away from his mate to join his brother at the doorway. With a lasting glance, he joined his brother behind his step down the hallway, disappearing out of sight with words Frank could easily listen to, but he blocked out the noise to give the pair privacy. 

Frank reached around his neck to touch the rosary Gerard gifted to him. He could almost imagine the remains of his once human warmth absorbed into the rounded beads when he rolled them between his fingers. Slightly dissolving his smile, he wondered if part of the reason why Michael made amends with the two of them was because of their departure to Lindsey's ball soon to come. Their lives could have been at a large risk depending on whether Lindsey had a specific plan in mind to crumble their own formation of an idea, Michael must have realized this. Frank recalled his earlier suggestion of having the entire coven approach Lindsey as opposed to certain individuals parting from the group. Frank couldn't deny the danger following the plan, certain that a team of vampires would conquer all in the end, but he also couldn't shake that a much more personal attack would make the infamous coven leader Lindsey more vulnerable. 

If he listened closely to the noises stirring about in the manor, he could detect the hum of numerous voices seeping through the walls, certain words he picked up involving the ball and the vampires submitting themselves to danger. He heard soft footsteps, the quiet creaking of the house settling in the night, the far away noise of crickets finding shelter in the garden beside the bubbling fountains running with fresh water. He listened to the breeze touching the sides of the house, relishing in his amplified senses while attempting to find peace. Interrupting Frank's thoughts was the creeping fear of whether or not he would leave the ball with his lover at his side. His sweet vampire, the one he spent years searching for, earning that same man as a reward in both friendship and romance that he'd be eternally grateful for no matter the amount of hurting they endured to come together as one. Losing him would be losing his heart, his mind, but his vow to keep breathing no matter how garish the future may seem to him if he lost his vampire kept him only slight inches above the ground, struggling to keep a leveled height or else he'd float away. 

Frank submerged deeply into these thoughts until sudden joy not belonging to his own self sprouted like soft marigolds at the back of his mind, ticking the negative thoughts out of his skull so kindly. He blinked at the unexpectedness, looking up in time to find his vampire gliding towards him with sleek steps, his arms outstretched. Frank allowed his rosary to fall around his neck again, all overwhelming thoughts forgotten in an instant. 

"Mm, mon amour." Gerard purred the sentiment once he gathered Frank into his embrace, feathery soft hair brushing against Frank's cheek like the tender caress of fingers. 

"How did it go?" Frank, slightly breathless from the exuding romance soaking into his pores, touched his lips achingly soft to Gerard's flawless cheek. 

Gerard gazed down at him with bright eyes lightened by his smile reaching the expression inside of them. He swiped his thumbs along Frank's cheeks, velvet over fresh silk. "My brother apologized to me for all the wrong he's done to me. He also longs to become closer with you as long as we could start anew."

"I would adore that." Frank beamed, but the embers of his momentary joy dimmed as he was faced with reality. With his lip between his teeth, he clasped Gerard's hands in his own and held his gaze steady to state, "It's more of a reason for you to try your best to come home with the rest of us when we go to that ball."

Gerard's expression smoothed over into a more serious tranquility, a sparkle of determination bringing perfect lips to Frank's forehead in a soothing kiss. "For the both of you, I will use everything I have within me to assure no one returns home without the other." 

"From the bottom of my heart, I swear I'll protect you."

"I swear the same, mon amour."


	21. Vampire Waltz

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Taking a closer look beyond the sea of velvet sends Frank into a panic.

The sound of water dripping into a tub filled with the same warm liquid should have driven a vampire to the verge of insanity. A steady rhythm broken over and over from a twin droplet being released a fraction of a second too late, breaking through the clear glass surface to form wobbling ripples leading to a pale body encased in the richness of liquid heat. Silence enveloping the quiet leak lead the atmosphere to appear ominous enough to be the true villain in the pursuit of shattering minds, the beholder of the grave truth laying ahead in only a small matter of time in the turmoil of eternity. Some were thankful no ticking clocks existed in a manor filled with dreaded time--all devices had been turned off for the sake of those counting down to a fateful encounter. 

Frank laid against the chest of his vampire in a porcelain tub containing the arch of a faucet allowing the drip to become the seldom noise in the room aside from soft breathing. He watched each droplet fall like teardrops he trapped inside him, held in to prevent himself from seeing the macabre of blood dripping from his eyes. While a beautiful and sorrowful picture for the angelic being that was Gerard, he'd find it a morbid horror if it became apparel on his own features. He counted the dripping tears of water until it edged towards the hundreds, and only then, he drew in a breath to break the silence between himself and his lover sitting steady against his back. 

"Would you have conspired against Lindsey even if we'd never met?" Frank's voice no longer faded or broke no matter how many moments he went without using it as it did when he was human. No thickness lingered in his throat, only melodic words sprinkling off of the tip of his tongue. 

Gerard's arms tightened around Frank's waist ever so slightly. A droplet of water lost its grip on a strand of his midnight toned hair, finding itself cool to the touch on Frank's shoulder. It slid a path over his flawlessly smooth skin and rejoined the body of water it originated from. 

"Yes." Gerard answered, certain in the way he upheld the strength of the word. "I would have found this coven once more sooner or later."

Frank nodded slowly. The drying tendrils of his hair stuck up above the rest clinging damp to his scalp, curling in towards the edges to tickle the sides of his neck like gracious feathers. Deep inside the whirling windmill of his thoughts, he sensed an odd numbness, fully aware that today was the day four vampires sprung from the London coven would stand against Lindsey reigning terror on every landmark she touched. Blood would be shed, and with fingers curling in tight towards his palm, he prayed for it to seep out from the body of the only vampire deserving of it. 

"She dies today. We might die, too." Frank whispered. As if the entire world listened to the breath of words pushing out from between his lips, everything stilled. The drip at the faucet ended without a lasting droplet to bid a goodbye, the breath in Gerard's chest came to a pause, and Frank's fingers twitched from the silence now beginning to plummet in his gut. 

"I know." Gerard exhaled the breath he held in shakily. The noise was a relief to Frank, his naked form relaxing in the comfort of his vampire's arms hugging him tight against his chest while a soft kiss was stamped to the side of his head. None out of the pair spoke more words in order to cling to the tenderness of love's hold, listening to the dripping of water resume, and breathing in the therapeutic curls of steam rising from the heated water wrapping around their joined forms. 

___

Fear was truly the most festering disease to ever exist inside of a soul. Fear was a darkness heavy enough to shut out any bit of light, a rawness resembling cool blades of cutting steel tearing away at any solace struggling to hold itself together in situations emitting powerful fear. Frank would never admit the ill cold of it was taking over the accumulated bravery Gerard so lovingly soothed into him with soft spoken words during the hours counting down to the ball. He kept it to himself, attempting time and time again to overpower the bitterness with the nourishing warmth, an internal struggle he'd forgotten he couldn't keep entirely private anymore until he saw the understanding sadness shining in his vampire's eyes the next moment their gazes met. He refused to let it show no matter how knowledgeable Gerard was of it, squaring his jaw and continuing to dress himself into the appropriate attire for the masquerade ball. 

Frank, to keep himself calm, imagined he was dressing himself for a funeral. The funeral of a nemesis not only to him, but to dozens of other, permitting the slide of his tuxedo over his sensitive skin to not be such a panic inducing sensation. Though he learned long ago to never celebrate the death of others no matter how wrong their actions may have seemed, he didn't find mercy so appealing in a complex situation going further than the cold-blooded crime of murder. Serenity seemed to be a far off peace treaty with his dominating fear no matter what thoughts he implanted in his mind, leaving his pale hands to tremble while smoothing out the material of his clothing to rid of the tiny wrinkles visible to his vampire eyesight. 

Gerard was a fragment of tranquility placing the softest motion of ease into Frank just by his mere presence. He looked exceptionally handsome in a red blazer and striped tie clashing in an ineffable duo with the porcelain of his skin and the raven black of his soft locks of hair. Also impossibly angelic, enough of a breathtaking sight to have Frank's lips meeting his jaw and his cheeks as he tied Gerard's silk tie for him around his neck, all signs of breathing dissipating as Gerard stole his grueling thoughts with a hungry kiss planted onto his lips. Weakened in the knees, Frank was swept under enchantment the moment their lips parted and the intoxicating scent hidden under Gerard's clothing rose to his nostrils to fill him with a craving none other could feel for him. Frank only pulled away as Gerard pushed his shoulders back slightly, his eyes reminding him of their task at hand, a frozen reality drying Frank's mouth. 

Silently, the pair slipped on their masks. The lace covering the plastic material concealed the upper halves of their faces, their eyes peering though the eye shaped holes carved into the stunning material. The pattern was made of swirls of black beads glittering in the lighting, occasional pearls dotting the curves of them edging towards the ticklish trim of gossamer lining the bottom. Frank gazed at himself in the mirror, running his fingers over the material, until Gerard placed his hand on his shoulder with a gentle weight to it. 

"It's time." Gerard had whispered to him. He appeared in the mirror as beautiful as ever, but a solemn angel carrying the weight of fear on his shoulders as equally as Frank did. The time for comfort had been spent, Frank thought to himself, and he collected himself with a shuddering breath to build his bravery for tonight. 

They had met Mina and Aura waiting for them at the end of the staircase. The captivating beauty already secured in their exteriors only increased in volume after their preparation for the ball. Their hair was curled into spirals, shining like rich silk in the twists they held them in, glittering jewels attached to their pale necks and dresses fitted to their elegant bodies pooled around them in puddles of rich fabric. Mina selected a red velvet dress, a cinched bodice and a skirt gradually flaring out around her, matching with a black and white mask shining with dark feathers across her eyes. Aura was an angelic contrast to her, adorned in a cream colored gown, thin lace straps going across her freckled shoulders, the soft fabric gracefully flowing down into a layered train edged in a banner of silk striping across the end. Her mask was pure white, crystals hanging from the bottom where specks of gold glittered underneath the eyes. 

Goodbyes shouldn't have felt like a heavy gloom rolling over the night sky when the moon was beautiful and confidence should have sheltered the formidable possibilities looming at the back of their minds. The masks shielded the sudden doubt hidden in the four vampires for which they were thankful for, and they departed to the vehicle parked on the pavement outside with the garish invitations to the ball in their grasp. The London air was cold, but their bodies carried a certain low degree that didn't allow puffs of steam to form millimeters from their lips from a contrast of temperature. Gerard sat behind the wheel of the vehicle, driving along the smooth roads entering the bright lights leading them to their destination, and Frank could only cling to the one free hand Gerard rested between the seats to provide him the comfort of contact.

Glancing in the review mirror, Frank could see Aura and Mina doing the same, but their hesitation was brought to them under entirely different circumstances.

The castle Lindsey hosted her ball inside of was tall and Victorian. By no means was it ridden by crumbling fissures or rusting gates barely budging under a strong push forward, the tall landmark towered over the crowd of finely dressed people wandering in through the open iron gates and walking across the secure wooden planks built over a bubbling moat to the wide doors open and inviting the guests inside. Flaming torches surrounded the entry and cast shadows over the smooth stone leading into circular towers branched off from one another, the stone slate gray and curved into a peak at the top of each one, stained glass windows shimmering in the glow of the mesmeric moon. The towers reached for the night sky, the very top one sharpened to an extreme point at the tip of the tubular chamber, a flag of black velvet waving like a daunting greeting to anyone who stepped inside. It would be beautiful, astoundingly gorgeous to the eyes of a visitor not placed in the situation the four vampires were stuck in. Frank scoffed to himself, thinking it was the perfect and most obvious choice for Lindsey to host her games inside. All the glamour, twice the gore.

Exiting the car after sliding it into an available space on the street--it was quite roomy, most of the guests brought themselves to the location with cabs--the vampires met hesitantly outside of the vehicle, their heads tipped back to drink in the castle from the top to the glassy waters churning at the bottom.

"Do you think we'll see her the moment we step in?" Aura asked, her voice a soft contrast to the gaudy voices of the laughing guests passing them by them to enter the castle.

"No," Mina shook her head slowly, her long curls bouncing along with her movement, "Lindsey rented a place of such a vast capacity for a reason."

Frank couldn't stop a quiet growl of anger from beginning at the back of his throat. He was incredibly close to finding his best friend and ending Lindsey's life even if he needed to do it with his own bare hands, but the challenge the vampire had set against them would drag time along and only fuel his anger the more she basked in the shadows. His fingers curled in toward his palms, his gums aching under the pressure of his fangs wanting to peek out when he'd been provoked.

"Be still, my love." Gerard whispered to him, velvet to crooked daggers spurting in Frank the more his anger built. He softly took Frank's arm, urging him to walk forward with them with promises of warmth in his eyes, and Frank could only trail behind him as a mass of melted anger turning to calmness under the effect of their bond.

Yellow light glowed down on the ivory flooring from the light fixtures decked around the walls and the high ceiling, the black iron chandelier twinkling with thousands of crystals catching the light in glistening gold chains connecting to the tiers of the massive ornament. Expensive rugs rolled out over the polished steps leading to the elevator between two divisions of hallways with stone steps, shining gold doors gliding open smoothly as a couple clung to each other in search for privacy. A small symphony carried out an eerie melody accompanied by a beautiful ballad of violins floating above the sounds of tinkling glasses, chattering voices, the sound of shoes gliding along the lustrous flooring beneath twirling dancers dressed in expensive flooring. The cavernous ballroom allowed them to waltz amongst one another without the fear of clashing together, graceful spinning of couples enough to bring a spell of dizziness to any person who watched for too long. The glass windows towered in oval shapes over the party of dancers wearing masks, moonlight blending into the golden lighting in beams of white meeting the orbs the chandelier sent spiraling across the smooth walls. Red velvet curtains hung heavily from the sides of the windows and brushed against the floor covered in beautiful furnishing that must have been imported from other continents, flashy trays and crystal tier platters filled with a variety of foods. Drinks were served around the perimeter of the circle of spinning couple, the silver trays containing glasses filled with a red substance that looked . . . eerily familiar.

It wasn't until a moment after observing the inside of the enormous castle with wide eyes that Frank caught onto the smell. The thick, mouth-watering, pleasantly pungent scent of blood rising from the glasses being served to the guests, a deep shade of red almost reaching the color black. Frank's reborn state left him highly sensitive to the smell and the memory of how it felt bursting into his mouth like the nectar of heaven, causing the ache in his gums to return and relieve itself as his fangs abruptly slid out from the pink flesh and poked at his bottom lip with a stabbing prickle. He gasped, tasting the scent of blood dancing across his tongue. He felt Gerard glance at him with concern, but Frank didn't pay mind to him as his eyes swept over the bodies surrounding himself and his companions. The pale shades of skin covering the graceful limbs of the guests excluding the rich and beautiful dark colored skin from those of another ethnicity, the perfect mouths stretched over sharp teeth and the unbreakable perfection of their movements in the dance they all participated in, down to the lovely scent radiating off of their skin paired with the hunger-provoking scent of blood.

This was not a ball being hosted for humans; the masquerade ball was overtaken by vampires.

"She--she brought an entire army of fucking vampires, there's so many of them." Frank's voice was higher in pitch from the panic tying his insides in knots. "I knew this would happen."

"They aren't her army." Mina told him, her eyes following the movement of the waltzing vampires so near to them. "Lindsey is dedicated to her theatrics. This is only a setting to make it harder for us to come after her."

Frank wasn't soothed by her words in the slightest bit. His fangs ached and his veins tightened from the heavenly smell of blood, but his stomach churned from the obvious perfume of vampires followed by it.

"What do we do?" Frank asked, clinging to Gerard's arm with a desperate tug of his fingers he wished wasn't so present.

Aura turned around with a slow twist of her body, the train of her dress gliding along the sparkling floor and her curls falling over her dainty shoulder. She sucked in a breath, adjusting her mask with graceful hands.

"We dance." She said.

Frank gawked at her. She  _had_  to be getting at some sort of punch line with her proposal, the idea of dancing in a situation as perturbing as this seeming outrageous to him. He looked at Gerard to decipher if he felt the same, seeing that his eyes were uncertainly staring at Aura and his lips were parted in preparation to speak.

"Why would we do that?" Gerard unconsciously pulled Frank into his side, letting the smaller vampire cling to him for warmth.

"If we look like we're hunting someone, then these vampires will become suspicious, and it will be impossible to find Lindsey without anyone stopping us." Aura explained in a quiet mumble barely loud enough so it remained for their ears only. "If we observe every face in here and detect each scent while moving about while we dance, no one will suspect anything."

Now that her plan was explained thoroughly, Frank's disbelief disintegrated. He couldn't deny that she spoke the truth. His eyes anxiously swept the room, believing down the core of his being that he would do anything to prevent the group from being halted.

"I agree." Mina stepped towards Aura, fixing her curls and turning around to look at Gerard and Frank holding one another in a subtle form. "If one of us catches any sign of her, we must tell the other. Remember to remain as inconspicuous as possible."

Frank looked up the moment Gerard nodded, turning his body to gather Frank's hand in his own. Frank clutched the warm embrace encircling his fingers, giving a nod of his own to Mina and Aura, and he watched the female vampires enter the crowd of dancers to enter the moving circle at the center of the floor. Slowly, he and his vampire made their way inside of it as well, careful in their steps and positioning their bodies together. As they entered the ballroom floor with a sweeping movement, the immediately fell into step with the rest of the vampires, gliding with ease in an exchange of balance and poise. Frank's eyes darted around the couples twirling past them, finding a variety of masks and a sea of fabric when his mind was buzzing so quickly that he couldn't focus. There was a tremble in his breathing too, the hand he'd clasped onto Gerard's shoulder with tightening.

"I need you to focus for me, Frank." Gerard leaned in close and whispered the words to Frank, his enticing scent gaining every fiber of Frank's attention. Their eyes locked together, two different shades of hazel boring into one another, and Frank's focus had never been captured so quickly before. He squeezed Gerard's hand, seeing every fine speck of color in Gerard's irises when he looked so deeply into them.

"Good." Gerard breathed, his tongue peeking out to wet his lips. "Now, I need you to look around. At every face, at every trace of a scent, use your senses to detect any signs of Lindsey surrounding us."

Frank swallowed hard, drowning out the thunderous noise of the theatrical symphony providing music in the cavernous castle. He forced himself to tear his gaze away from Gerard's eyes to take in his surroundings with better senses, a sharper outlook and a searching nose. His eyes landed on face after face of the vampires near them, no longer seeing them as a sea of faces looking all the same in beauty. He focused on features and decoded them in a matter of milliseconds, the shape of lips and noses and the colors of eyes behind masks making it more of an obstacle to define them. He smelled individual scents, the musk of blood and champagne, the smell of fabric and the metal chains of jewelry decorating the women and some men. He could suddenly hear their breathing, their words, the peals of laughter and the clicking of heels down to the sound of fingernails accidentally scraping against gowns of silk. He breathed steadily, drinking all of them in and spinning for what felt like hours.

"She's not here." Frank whispered, still looking for the woman they sought out with near desperation in the rapid flickering of his eyes.

"I can't seem to find her either." Gerard concluded, his eyes narrowing as he found someone similar, but finding it wasn't Lindsey. "I assumed from the beginning she would not be basking in plain sight after all of this effort to lure us towards her."

"What if she's not here at all?" Frank uttered out of fear. He looked at Gerard's face again, a small crease forming between his brows.

Gerard shook his head, twirling Frank around under his raised arm as the rest of the crowd did with their partners and drawing him back in to continue their dance and their desperate search. "She has to be. I refuse to leave without Lindsey's blood on our hands and Jamia safe at your side." His determination was an electric type of fire, dancing over the uncertainty clouding Frank's mind to burn it into mere ashes. It was the burst of flames he needed to keep his eyes peeled for Lindsey, his fingers that were interlaced with Gerard's squeezing them ever so slightly.

For another handful of minutes with a likeliness of eternity, they blended into the moving sea of vampires, looking into every face with discreetness in order to not call attention to themselves. Frank would feel Gerard's hand on his waist tighten softly whenever Frank sighed in frustration, a comforting touch to remind him to not lose faith. The spun around for another moment, until suddenly, Mina and Aura approached them, dancing together and leaning close to speak to them.

"We've captured her scent at the back doors." Mina announced to the pair, nodding towards the wooden double doors down the hall in another room with dimmer lighting. Alarm flared through Frank's being.

"Let's find her, then." Gerard meant to weave them out of the sea of dancing vampires, but Mina shook her head, sharing a glance with Aura.

"Aura and I will find her first. You and Frank will set off to find your friend." Mina nodded once, finding that Aura silently agreed with her.

"Will you be alright?" Frank asked with deep rooted concern. He would never forgive himself if he allowed the two lovely vampires who welcomed him so warmly into their coven to be attacked by Lindsey, or worse, killed.

"We know what we're doing. It'll be alright, Frank, you can trust us. We know Lindsey." Aura reassured him with a placid smile to soothe him. Frank couldn't feel his nerves melting away as they were intended to, doubt flurried inside of him, but he forced himself to accept that everything would be over and done with sooner if one pair found Jamia and the other located Lindsey.

"Stay safe. We love you." Gerard's soft voice rang out to the vampires, almost like a farewell if anything was destined to happen.

"And we love you." Mina smiled warmly, sadness touching her eyes, and she whisked Aura away to glide with incredible speed towards the double doors with Lindsey's scent clinging to the exit. 

Gerard lead Frank away from the crowd with graceful steps, stopping their spinning once they were in the clear. Frank glanced back at the double doors with unease, opening his lips to propose to Gerard that they should follow the women no matter what they told them, but Gerard spoke first.

"I brought something that will be helpful as we search for Jamia." Gerard stood by Frank with a shielding stance keeping others from seeing what he reached into his red blazer for. Frank watched him curiously, keeping his eyes on the blazer until Gerard pulled his hand away, and a gasp caught in his throat as his eyes fell upon a streamer of the bloody shirt given to Frank after he was told Jamia was taken care of. A stain brought on the scent of old blood, flowers and perfume, the distinct human scent clinging to the wrinkled fabric.

"Gerard, what if she isn't human anymore? This scent wouldn't be hers anymore." Frank whispered. A shaky hand touched the strip of her shirt, the reminder of the pain he once felt cutting deep into him like a fresh wound.

"If she's become a creature of the night, then I promise you that we will still find her." Gerard tucked the fabric away, his eyes burning with the vow he made to Frank. Frank could still smell Jamia's human scent floating in the space between them where Gerard had held it up to show him, stinging in his nose. Frank trusted his vampire above all, shoving away the stab of discouragement threatening to consume him again and not with newfound confidence.

"We'll save her together." Frank wrapped his hand around Gerard's pale wrist, tugging gently so his vampire followed. When they started their pace, the pair hurried over the wide steps at the far center of the room to begin their task. The thick red carpet covering the middle of the steps on their way up barely budged under their feet, even allowing them to glide quicker with their hands clasping together in between their moving bodies. They embarked to the elevator first, clicking the button surrounded by a plaque of gold and awaiting for the shimmering doors to glide open. Once they had access inside of the space secured with red threaded carpet, they stepped inside and eagerly awaited to reach their destination throughout the smooth glide of the transportation.

The moment the golden doors slid open again, the pair fled from the new space and into the cold, dark hallway barely lit by the candle sticks quietly casting the softest glow over the rich colored walls and tapestries. Frank could feel the cold air brushing up against his skin at the quick pace he selected turning him into a blur of movement. He'd separated from Gerard to flit through room to room, anxiousness crawling under his flesh after finding vacant rooms over and over or skipping occupied chambers holding the scent and sound of unfamiliar vampires. The moonlight was daunting and draining Frank and his vampire of color whenever they passed the open windows with fluttering curtains bothered by the incoming breeze. Frank quickly joined Gerard once more at the apex of the hallway, a disheartened look in his eyes, until Gerard lead him to the elevator once more to continue the search.

One thing was certain, and that certainty was that the cavernous castle contained a ridiculous amount of rooms. All at the quick brain of Lindsey, hand-picking a residence of vast levels to keep them darting back and forth to find what they vowed to leave with. Frank relentlessly increased his speed each time he swung a door open and found nothing inside, finding no identification of Jamia's scent clinging to any of the furnishings inside of the wide hallways. Gerard hadn't found anything either, leading Frank to believe Lindsey must have kept Jamia at her side outdoors where Mina and Aura searched for her. He refused to let go of the glint of hope Gerard embedded inside of him with a match of fire, storming through the castle and crossing paths with his vampire over and over in the search for the young woman they aimed to save. 

At long last, during the midst of a frantic search peeling Frank's patience away little by little, he stopped in his tracks at a whiff of a scent breaking through the smell of carpet, candle wax, and vampire strangers. The scent floated underneath his nose and caused his veins to clench from the mouthwatering heaviness of it, the pungently sweet smell of a human sliding from underneath the crack of the last door in one of the hallways he ventured. The familiarity of the perfume clinging to the smell of skin and blood set off an alarm in his mind, identifying it as Jamia's scent straight away. An orange glow was escaping from the thin strip of space between the door and the marble floor, the space bringing her scent to Frank. 

"Gerard, she's in here!" Frank called out to his vampire, millions of shockwaves traveling through his body before they sprouted into great relief. Wrapping his hand around the doorknob and twisting, he realized a lock without a key slot on the outside kept outsiders away. Gerard appeared by  Frank's side, watching him ram his knee up into the knob in order to fracture the lock no matter the pain. Sensing his desperation, Gerard cast Frank aside much to the vampire's confusion. Suddenly, Gerard braced himself, darting towards the door at top speed, and the wood splintered underneath the harsh blow of his solid shoulder colliding with the entrance. Gerard winced from the blooming pain, leaving Frank to feel the secondhand hurting of his darling vampire echoing in his shoulder as well. Frank briefly kissed his vampire's cheek to soothe some of the pain held inside him, but eagerly leaped over the fragments of wood hanging from the golden hinges attached to the door frame. 

"Jamia?" Frank called into the room. The cracking of a fire burning in the hearth of the open fireplace at the far back of the room, the light source creeping orange and yellow lighting over the furniture pieces belonging to a bedroom set. Frank's eyes wildly searched the room, discovering the bed was perfectly made and nothing seemed to be perturbed by touching hands or a living specimen. Her scent was astoundingly clear inside the room no matter what state the guest room was in, leaving him desperate to find her even if he trashed the neat display inside the wide space. 

"Jamia, where are you?" Frank darted to the bed and checked underneath it, behind the curtains, and he opened up the double doors to the wardrobe. Nothing but cool metal hangers dangled from the bar going across the space and the shelves remained empty, not a trace of her ever being inside of it could be found. His breath shuddered as he drew in a deep gulp of oxygen, whirling around to find his vampire kneeling beside a velvet couch set at an angle beside the burning fireplace. His hands were reaching for the quilt draped over the back of the couch, unfolding the material with a crease between his brows.

"What is it?" Frank wandered over to him with a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach, wondering if he would ever find the location of his best friend as the night slipped away from them by the minutes. He swallowed thickly and knelt beside his vampire with his eyes trained on the quilt. When he breathed in, he could taste Jamia's scent on the tip of his tongue, radiating off of the fabric rested in Gerard's hands as he undid the many folds it was shaped into. 

Immediately, when he unfolded another layer, the two vampires sucked in a sharp gasp at the intense scent of blood rising off of the soft quilt. The source of the smell came from a large stain of blood sunken into the threads holding the fabric together, smeared across the diamond shaped patterns going across the length of it. The brownish tint of it explained the age, the scent telling the story of where it had been spilled from, and Frank's stomach clenched violently in a way where he wouldn't be able to stop himself from heaving if he was still human. Frank's eyes rimmed with blood tears as he snatched the blanket into his own hands, staring at the splotches of blood along with the tiny dots randomly scattered, indicating a spray had occurred. It was like reliving being given her blood soaked shirt once again, only now, the intensity of the smell left him never wanting to take a sip of blood ever again in his eternal life. His hands began to shake, fingers curling into the quilt, and he wondered if this was the final bit of remains from his best friend he'd been foolish enough to abandon. 

"Jamia, oh god." Frank whimpered, the heat of his blood tears obscuring his vision with warmth and a tint of red colored everything in his sight. He'd felt this pain before and it was an unwelcome foe breaking his heart into pieces again. Although he couldn't see a body in sight, something about the violent spill of blood across the quilt told him a story of horror he'd find himself dead before ever deciding to sit down and listen to it. His own blood dripped onto the fabric as it fell from his eyes, staining the quilt furthermore. 

"My love, this doesn't mean Jamia is dead." Gerard's voice was pained even through his attempt to soothe Frank. The comfort of his hand rubbing Frank's back barely bled through the aching in Frank's heart. "This could be a trick, a distraction."

Frank's trembling fingers fisted the fabric of the quilt, bubbled over with a hysterical type of anger snapping inside of him as his fangs slid out alarmingly from his fangs with a quickly dulled sharp pain. "Her blood is sprayed onto this, Lindsey hurt her regardless of whether she's dead or not! Look at this, Gerard, look at it and try to tell me everything's going to be okay!" He shoved the quilt out in front of them, shaking with rage.

His vampire was pained by Frank's outburst, hurt swimming in his sweet irises and causing Frank to instantly regret allowing his anger to be misplaced in a gentle lover only trying his very best to soothe him. Frank let out a shaky whimper as Gerard pulled his hand away from him slowly, the anger melting down into deep set guilt he couldn't shed while he watched Gerard's shoulders slump with defeat.

"Forgive me." Frank whispered, the quilt falling from his fingers that had loosened their grip so he could reach out for his vampire instead. He skimmed his fingertips over Gerard's porcelain cheeks, kissing them softly with trembling lips, and his vampire gently wrapped his pale fingers around Frank's wrists.

"We'll find Lindsey. And the moment we do, I swear to the heavens above, my love, that she will pay for the sins she's committed against someone you love." Gerard's quiet voice ebbed into a passionate growl sending shivers all across Frank's insides. He stirred under Gerard's gentle grip, barely moving when a quick but hard kiss was planted onto his lips. He only knew to stand when his vampire did, tightly grasping his hand, and running beside him in the search for the women wreaking havoc over a masterpiece of tranquility.

The burst of night air cleansing the lingering heat from indoors washed over their skin after they sprinted from the castle and shoved past the back doors containing Lindsey's scent, a familiar sting to the nose after it had been sprayed onto their invitation to the ball. Frank detested the familiarity of it, burning in his lungs as hatred curdled deep inside his chest. In the brilliant beams of moonlight, a wide garden was illuminated in the night time setting. Frank could smell the fresh scent of Mina and Aura clinging to the cobblestones beneath their feet. His eyes trained forward, widening at the sight of something far more vast than he'd anticipated.

The tall hedges of trimmed bushes built an intimidating maze reaching far into the distance. The entrance led to a path inside, garish gargoyles peering at the corner branching off into the complex trap set by a clever vampire awaiting for them at any given turn they made inside of it. Frank was frozen staring at it, coldness numbing his fingers all the way to his lips going slack--if he feared being trapped forever in the castle while searching for the one thing he sought out to save, the fear was amplified now. He ripped his gaze away and took in Gerard's stony expression, the tightness of his jaw.

"If it was her intention to keep us away, then I'm afraid she was terribly wrong." Gerard began to step forward, storming towards the entrance, but the presence of Mina and Aura materialized beside the vampire and Frank when they became aware of their presence.

"What are you doing here?" Mina asked, wide-eyed. Her mask was gone, revealing the streaks of glitter across her eyelids and the pulsing red of her irises set off from the frustration she must have endured while searching for Lindsey.

"Jamia isn't in the castle. Lindsey set a blood soaked quilt to trick us into wasting more time, she has to be in there with her." Frank gestured wildly to the maze, his throat tight and barren.

"Lindsey is playing games. She keeps running near us, teasing us, it's been impossible to capture her." Aura growled, her once perfectly done curls hanging loose and free to her slim waist. Her fangs gleamed behind her full lips and Frank could still feel his own pair elongated in his mouth.

"Then we'll find the both of them together." Gerard looked between the group, his eyes glowing with resilience and burning an intense green shining through the darkness of the night. Frank's breath caught and he found himself nodding, edging towards the entry of the maze, glancing back at Mina and Aura a few steps away from himself and his vampire.

"Together." The girls said together, a firm nod following their word through the determination brightening their vampire eyes just the same as Gerard's piercing gaze. Frank held his breath, awaiting for them to stand at the mouth of the maze. As a group, they stepped inside, and sprinted off in a blur of color.


	22. I See Fire

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lindsey's games don't last for long.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tissues, if you please!!

Swells of pure frustration towered over the frantic search for something unknown in the terms of humanity and the hidden loophole inside of nature succumbing to immortality. The sound of combined breathing and the swaying of a party in the distance became a grating noise causing advanced irritation which, unfortunately, couldn't be drowned out with the ever so sensitive ears of a vampire. Swimming across the tides of desperation was the sinking of bodies barreling towards the treasure buried beyond recognition, blindingly searching with the sense of smell and hearing, yet somehow, the epitome of mystery digging into the fissures of a sore heart aching for relief. Frank had never once in his life felt as delicate as a china doll inching towards the edge, panic setting in like electricity sinking under his skin achingly slowly with the intentions of shocking his insides into a frozen state of lifelessness. Frank wavered time and time again while meeting dead ends, ultimately coming face to face with a cool numbness, up until the very moment his faith collided with his dissolving determination.

The wafting scent underneath his nose belonged to neither vampire he came close to tonight. It held a foreign sweetness to it that Frank could only identity to the scent radiating off of a vampire, but as he inhaled, the familiarity hidden underneath the first initial scent set Frank into a frenzy. He took off, bounding towards the scent, wildly cutting through every path in the maze until he heard the source of the scent he'd been seeking out all evening.

When he found where she was hiding, the path had been cut off by another hedge, a dead end in the twisting maze. He could practically smell the despair he captured in visual alongside the scent clinging to the vampire huddled with her back against the green at the end of the path.  Her knees were drawn to her chest, and though she shivered and sobbed harshly enough for her entire frame to vibrate, she was dressed in a silk red slip gown, a jacket of leather covering her upper half, and porcelain cover stockings concealing the skin at her legs. Her hair was curling close to her ears, shorter than Frank remember, but as ebony as he recalled. The choppiness of the style told him cutting her hair was a messy ceremony, perhaps one done against her will. Frank swallowed hard at the thought of anyone hurting her.

Seeing Jamia flooded swelling relief into the cavity of his chest where previous aching shriveled up inside him to rot. All the grief he endured, the tears he shed mourning the loss of his dearest friend, none of it seemed to matter any longer when he stared at her, alive and breathing . . .

 _A vampire_.

Frank felt bitter chill traveling through him as he realized the scent of a vampire radiated from Jamia. Her skin was as white as the moon, and the underlying note of human blood clinging to her clothes taunted Frank. Frank may have seemed hypocritical when he was once a human turned into one of the creatures of the night, but he flashed with anger on the inside to see Jamia's humanity had been stolen from her. Without a doubt in him, he knew Lindsey had done this, leaving Jamia abandoned and afraid in the middle of the outdoor maze.

"Jamia?" Frank called out to her hesitantly. He wasn't sure how to approach her, watching his best friend curled up tight during an emotional breakdown. He didn't understand the reason behind her tears, some part of him dreaded to find out.

Jamia looked up the second her name was called. Her eyes flashed a violent crimson red Frank had seen before in the stare of ravenous vampires, the vibrant color conquering the whites of her eyes. Frank flinched, forcing himself to remember she wouldn't attack unless he was a vessel made of human blood. Jamia didn't look starved to the point of insanity, her expression was etched by the cruel, selective hands of sorrow, blood streaking down her cheeks and dripping towards her chin. He never wanted to see her this way.

"Frank?" Jamia whispered. Her voice smoothed over in her new life of immortality. Her voice had always been something pleasant, soft and sweet, but she could have lured in any human being now if she spoke with words of kindness. Her eyes widened when she saw Frank slowly approaching her, the crimson in her eyes collectively dimming.

"Jamia, oh my god." Frank breathed out. He closed the distance between them, sinking down onto the cobblestone grounds so cold in the dead of the night, but he didn't dare reach out to touch her while unsure of whether or not she was in a well enough state to handle it. His throat tightened up with emotion as he looked at her, seeing the remains of his human friend in the softness of her features. Jamia was  _alive,_ and he'd missed her terribly.

"Frank, I thought you were dead!" Jamia cried, her tears gushing from her eyes with another reason behind them. She reached out and clasped Frank's hands in her own, blood smudging onto his skin that came from her fingers wiping at her tears. "You left and you promised you'd come back, but you never did! I thought he killed you, I went to the mansion and saw it was destroyed."

"I know you did, I can't imagine what that did to you." Frank clung to her, tears of his own rising in his eyes. "He saved my life, the mansion started falling apart and he took me away from it. So much has happened, I don't have time to tell you now, but you need to know that I'm okay and you will be, too."

"She turned me into this--" Jamia sobbed, falling apart as she threw her arms around Frank's neck. "She took me away and she turned me into a monster, I never wanted this! All I wanted was to get away from vampires, and now I've become one."

Frank's heart cracked into dozens of pieces, the residue falling into the bottom of his stomach. He held Jamia close, soothing her as a stray tear fell from one of his eyes. "I know, Mia, I know. I'm going to save you from her, I'll take you with me and Gerard and the rest of our coven--"

"What?" Jamia pulled back all of a sudden, her eyes wide with horror. Her eyes captured the blood tear tracking down Frank's cheek, a shuddering breath sucking in past her lips.

"I love him, J." Frank whispered. "He protected me, he was kind to me, and I fell in love with him. I know you must think that's fucked up with how little you know, but I swear, I will explain everything. We need to get you out of here first before Lindsey finds us." He started to get up, tugging Jamia's arm.

"Frank, no!" Jamia yanked her arm away, scooting away. "Lindsey is everywhere. If you take me from her, she'll hurt you!"

"There are others that came here with me. Four against one." Frank knelt down in front of Jamia, carefully reaching forward to hastily wipe her tears away with a swipe of his thumbs across her face. "You have to trust me. That's the only way I can get you out of here and get rid of Lindsey once and for all."

"But . . ."

"What is it?" Frank's brow scrunched with confusion.

Jamia only stared at him. Her eyes shed no more tears, her melancholy troubles dissolved after she'd discovered Frank was the one calling out for her, but something was horribly out of place in her dark stare. It split through Frank's bones and resonated inside of them with an odd chill he never imagined he would feel in her gaze. Unease slowly built inside of him as she slowly lifted herself off of the ground with astounding grace. Patting down the wrinkles of her dress, she lifted her hands once they were done smoothing out her clothes to wipe away the excess tears, smudging blood all around her porcelain pale face. She was a being of pure beauty, but her sudden shift in demeanor had Frank's breath stilling in his lungs.

"Jamia?" Frank asked, higher pitched than the normal tone of his voice. He could sense something thickening in the air that he couldn't place his finger on, perhaps it was eerie in the way it crawled under his skin, searching deeper and deeper. Jamia looked past him, at the ground, as if she was expecting something, and Frank wasn't sure he wanted to know what she waited for.

Horrifyingly, Frank felt a blistering pang of pain in the middle of his abdomen. The suddenness of it wracked through his being and made him fold over instantly with all of the breath he had inside of him coming out in a pained cry. Immediately, he wrapped his arms around himself, feeling for any sort of wound, but nothing came from him. In the distance, he heard chilling laughter, sounds of pain, and the hurt inside of him ebbed away slowly. It meant the pain wasn't his own, but the ghost sensation of it coming from the vampire he was linked to in every way.

Gerard was hurt.

Gasping, Frank snapped his head up, just in time to hear Jamia giggle before she streaked past him in a flash of moment. He whirled around to find she was gone without a trace, her laughter soon blending in with the familiar sound of giggling belonging to the devilish vampire Frank loathed with every atom his body was created with.

"Gerard!" Frank cried out. In a blur, Frank took off, forcing himself to move through the lingering curls of pain petting his insides. The ghost of Gerard's danger haunted him and he couldn't stand around with shock chaining him to the ground, every thought bouncing in his mind urged him to find Gerard and save him from the jaws of whatever gripped him so tightly. His desperation and horror grew with each dead end he found, taunting him into a state of pure panic. At last, he captured Jamia's scent fading off on the paths turning sharply at each end, and he followed it with hope that it would lead him to where Gerard was.

Her scent didn't lead him to where Gerard may have laid, but with his ability of sensitive hearing he was able to track down the sound until he reached the open square that was the center of the maze. There, Frank was struck by the strong smell of blood before he could asses anything occurring in the square of space. He spun around, his chest collapsing in on itself with thickening anxiousness choking him slowly. His eyes found Gerard crumpled on the floor on his knees, clutching his stomach tightly with heavy breaths of pain escaping him. Blood was flowing over his pale fingers, dripping onto the stone floor in crimson droplets spreading out like rose petals. Aghast and going cold, Frank darted across the space between them and dropped down onto his knees in front of his vampire.

"Gerard,  _no_." Frank's voice trembled, finally feeling the cold in the air for the first time that evening. Gerard looked up at Frank through his dark hair falling into his face, his expression construed of pain and defeat, sad olive colored eyes silently apologizing to Frank for reasons beyond his mate.

"Don't you dare blame yourself for this." Frank's shaking hands clasped Gerard's and the warmth of blood staining his fingers made his heart shatter. "Who did this to you? What happened?" Now that the wound was uncovered, blood flowed freely from where the weapon cut through Gerard's clothes, one that Frank couldn't stomach looking at directly. He swore softly, his stomach flipping.

"Who do you think did it, my dear?" A sickly sweet voice cut into the close exchange between Frank and his wounded vampire. The chill of it could have competed with the lowest temperature freezing over the land, smooth and sharp as knives at the same time in a combination fearsome enough to make any vampire shiver all the way to their core. Frank knew this voice as much as he detested it, his hatred growing the moment he heard it again.

Frank slowly turned his head to face his worst enemy standing in the center of the maze, beside Jamia who clung to the vampire's side with a grin curling her lips upwards. Lindsey's blood red smirk matched the red velvet dress hugging her curves and showcasing her pale skin, her teeth as sharp as the fangs belonging to a spider which seemed fitting considering the webbing of her black lace sleeves, the black widow pendant glistening just above her cleavage. The blood dripping from her fingertips was enough to confirm Frank's assumption, the sharp silver stake gripped tightly in her hand, also stained with the redness of Gerard's blood.

Seeing Jamia with such an enraptured look in her eyes whenever she looked at Lindsey, the glint of insanity when she turned them towards Frank and Gerard, it was more painful than the blow he'd felt in his stomach from the secondhand sensation of Gerard being stabbed. Frank held Gerard close, fluid anger injecting into him as he listened to the pained gasps his vampire released against his neck.

"You're a fucking monster." Frank spat out towards the smirking vampire watching them.

"I would take that as a compliment if it weren't for the look in your eyes. Almost makes me think you're going to kill me." Lindsey laughed lightly, wiping some of the blood from the silver stake with careless hands and tossing it to the ground. It rolled towards the entrance of the center of the maze, blood dribbling onto the floor.

"Why did you bring Jamia into this? She didn't deserve any of it, and look what you've done to her." Frank's heart flared with pain watching Jamia sneer at him in distaste, a shadow glued to each of Lindsey's movements.

"I think the girl would beg to differ." Lindsey turned to look at Jamia, a look of false tenderness written across her face. "Why don't you tell Frank what you've come to realize recently, Jamia?"

Jamia nodded, her eyes shining like glistening blades, and her stare cut through every layer of Frank's body. She stepped forward, her mouth curled into a grimace of hatred Frank had never seen her project before.

"How was I supposed to feel when you left me all alone like that, Frank?" Jamia spoke with such venom, it burned Frank the point of physical pain. "You ran away to be with your precious vampire, you didn't care about how I felt. You left me for someone who could never love you or know you the way I did."

"Jamia--" Frank croaked, but she continued on with heightened anger after he tried to interrupt.

"You're so stupid, you never realized how much I loved you! I was in love with you. In the time you've been off frolicking with your vampire and abandoning everything and everyone who's ever cared about you, Lindsey took me in. She told me the truth about everything, and she's loved me more than you ever have. She takes care of me, she talks to me, and that's something you never had time to give me anymore! I hate you, Frank Iero, I hate you for making me think you had been killed when in reality, you left me for someone you didn't know."

Frank was frozen up. Clinging to Gerard, he felt his vampire breathing quickly, grunting in pain, and he heard Lindsey chuckling in amusement over Jamia's scathing words. A dagger embedded itself deep into his heart, the blade twisting, and he'd never imagined this sort of resentment could have been made permanent in Jamia's soul. In that moment, he felt cruel, truly and disgustingly cruel, never once realizing how his decisions could have affected Jamia. His best friend, the one he fought so hard to rescue, would more than likely never forgive him for the selfish hastiness of his choices, and for that, he would never forgive himself either.

"Mia, I'm so sorry." Frank bowed his head in shame. "I never stopped caring about you. This whole time, I've been looking for you, I was so relieved when I found out there was a possibility that Lindsey hadn't killed you. I swear to you, Jamia, I was going to come back, but I didn't think through what might have happened if I found Gerard. But, you have to hear me out, I love him, I love him so much, and I need you to believe me when I tell you that him and I were meant to be. I can't regret what we have."

In his arms, Gerard whimpered, his lips brushing Frank's throat. Frank looked down into his eyes, then found blood was pooling on the ground near their knees, spotting his clothes, and he realized time was running out. Vampires didn't hold as much blood in their bodies as humans did.

"I don't care to hear about your excuses." Jamia's eyes flared as she slowly made her way back over to Lindsey who watched with intense amusement.

"She's brainwashed you, Jamia, she's manipulative! You can't trust her--"

"You don't know the first thing about Lindsey!" Jamia's voice boomed, colored in red shades of harrowing acid, pinning Frank down and making him stop himself from saying anything else. He held Gerard tight, bringing his wrist to his mouth, his fangs elongating with an aching snap to slash the tips across his skin to feed the blood to Gerard.

"Vampire blood doesn't heal wounds of silver, Frankie." Lindsey _tsk_ ed softly, cocking one hip out and resting her hand on the curve. "I made sure he wouldn't be able to be healed so quickly."

"Why not just kill me?" Gerard growled, as weak as he sounded, just as Frank paused with dread slowly dragging him under.

"Because you both needed to learn a lesson." Lindsey snarled, her fangs gleaming when her lips pulled over them, and her eyes began to fill with rich crimson. "This is what happens to people who don't listen, who disobey me, and you have betrayed me! You understood my circumstances, and yet you defied me."

"I could never love a monster, Lindsey." Gerard turned to stare at her through his hair tumbling all around his pallid face. The coldness radiating from him aimed towards Lindsey. unleashing itself into the open. "You have always been one in my eyes, from the moment your filthy fangs sank into me and stole every bit of my humanity against my will. You forced me to kill my first love, you drove me into hiding and abandoning everything, you've ruined my brother, and you tried to take Frank from me. Is this what love is to you, something you force by breaking a person apart?"

Lindsey seemed hollow, in that moment between the shifting of events. Her eyes ran with an emptiness that compared to a void punched inside of her, never being filled by her greed causing her to be violent during her pursuit for the things she wanted. Frank thought it was a vulnerability, something momentary that would open up the opportunity for him to lunge for her, but she snapped into an obliterating mistress of anger, the gates of hell opening in her once empty eyes.

Reaching down, she grabbed the stake laying abandoned on the ground. A sound of vexatious danger ripped free from her chest, and as she sprang forward, Frank cradled himself around Gerard in a protective stance; Gerard couldn't be healed, Lindsey's target would place a similar tragic wound inside Frank, and if he was meant to die tonight, he would die with his love, and the thought was more soothing than it should have been when he saw the promise of death in Lindsey's manic eyes.

Frank snapped his head up at the sound of bodies colliding in the moment he thought he would feel blistering pain. He watched with wide eyes as Lindsey skidded across the ground from a forceful shove stopping her from digging the tip of the stake into Frank's back. He looked around frantically to find Mina struggling with Lindsey trapped underneath her. Lindsey flailed underneath Mina's grip and managed  to strike her, forcing Mina's head to snap to the side with a fresh line of blood dripping across her cheek, but in return, she pinned Lindsey's wrists and bared her fangs as a warning if Lindsey tried to fight back. The stake was ripped free from Lindsey's hand, angled and aimed towards her throat, but Mina was suddenly tossed away from Lindsey's struggling form, tumbling towards the ground and being pinned to the stone by another being. Frank quickly realized it was Jamia, yelling out in pure rage inches away from Mina's face. Frank quickly shot up in horror as he watched Jamia bare her fangs, lunging for a vulnerable spot at Mina's neck where the woman was thrashing for freedom.

Aura surged into the center of the maze just in time to knock Jamia off of her best friend. She grabbed Jamia by her throat with formidable crimson red eyes, lifting her off of her feet with a strength Frank had no idea she possessed, and tossed her aside as if she was nothing but a pesky ragdoll planted in her path. Frank heard a sickening crack when Jamia landed on the hard cobblestone, followed by an enraged scream of agony piercing through the night. Lindsey scooped Jamia into her arms to service her when her leg twisted in the upmost gruesome fashion, and they escaped.

But not before Lindsey retrieved a lighter from the inside of her dress, the item glistening in the moonlight with a dangerous shimmer causing Frank's stomach to plummet. He dived forward, reaching for the lighter held high in Lindsey's bloody hand, but the flame blooming at the tip of it caught onto the brush holding the maze together. The flames licked against each of the leaves, the branches, a rapid chain wrapping around the entirety of the bushes surrounding them and scorching the floor of the entrance to corrupt it with burning fire. Lindsey and Jamia escaped before the fire could touch them, leaving Frank skidding across the ground and landing mere inches away from the flames. The wild colors of orange and red collided together and danced mockingly in a square around the vampires, trapping them, the heat radiating in quick waves that would soon form into thick clouds of smoke choking them.

"Frank, we need to help Gerard!" Mina cried out from behind Frank, her voice barely rising over the crackling of fire.

Frank whirled around to find her and Aura kneeling beside Gerard, easing him onto his back on the ground with careful movements. Gerard was groaning at the effort placing pressure on his leaking wound, the pang making its way into Frank's own gut. Alarmed and fearful at the same moment, Frank went down onto his knees at his vampire's side. Mina tore a streamer of her dress away to pressed the fabric against the wound, attempting to stop the bleeding, but the blood soon began to soak through the delicate material.

"She stabbed him with a silver stake, I can't heal him." Frank informed her with despair creeping into his heart, creating fissures that would soon be on their way to shattering his heart completely if Gerard couldn't heal from his fatal wound.

"You need to try." Aura looked up at Frank, the reflection of the fire dancing in the fierce green of her eyes lined with bloody tears showing she hurt over everything occurring tonight as well. Her hair was askew, as was Mina's, their dresses rid of their neatness.

Frank looked down at Gerard, the heaviness of his lids and the almost silvery whiteness of his skin after he slowly began to bleed out. His chest clenched heavily with pain as he looked at the fire edging towards them, finding no escape in the ring of it as the bitterness of black smoke started to tickle his throat.

"We're going to die." Frank looked up, hating to speak the words out loud and sounding completely hollow. The bleakness saturated his silenced belief that the night wouldn't be so kind to them and deliver them home without so much as being scathed. Despite soothing words and delicate promises, none of them prevailed, something Frank should have been braced for the moment he stepped foot inside the castle.

"I know." Mina whispered, barely audible in the middle of chaos. "But don't let him die this way. The least we can do is try."

Frank looked down at his vampire, his mate, his true love he'd been so fortunate to find after a lifetime of searching for him. Their connection had been instant from the moment he first met the vampire, blossoming into something far more intense as the years went by, and remaining identifiable until he felt what it was like to be held in his embrace. The kiss of a dark angel stained his lips forevermore. Gerard looked up into his eyes, his chest heaving with silent pain, but he didn't plead for a savior. He told Frank everything he needed to know before the flames swallowed them whole.

Agonized by the moment, Frank's opened his veins again with a sharp glide of his fangs across his wrist. Fresh blood began to trickle from the wound and he reached out for his vampire, resting his head onto his lap for his comfort. Holding in a sob, Frank lead his wrist to Gerard's pale lips, waiting for them to part, and he pressed his wound against his mouth. He cried out softly as Gerard bit into the wound, suckling his blood with a tender bite sending a sting of pain bolting up Frank's arm. It melted into honey liquid, causing him to struggle to restrain himself in the presence of two other vampires eagerly awaiting for some sort of closure even if they all knew no such thing would be possible with a wound of silver punctured into Gerard. Frank cried silently, shutting his eyes through the rain of blood tears slipping down his cheeks while Gerard fed. Not even the sweet sensation of his blood being taken could mask the crushing despair pulling him apart, the heat of the fire coming closer, the smoke making his chest shudder with the need to cough it out of his lungs.

Gerard pulled his mouth away, lips stained with blood, and Frank removed his wrist from his mouth with blood still dripping from the wound he felt beginning to close instantly the second Gerard's fangs slid out of it. It would have amazed him, but he focused on checking Gerard's wound, holding his breath.

"Do you feel anything?" Mina leaned over Gerard with Frank, gently beginning to pull the bloody fabric she'd pressed to Gerard's stomach away. It bared the wide puncture wound, bloodied and a mess of torn flesh Frank felt dizzy looking at.

Gerard's expression fell apart as he waited, his chest rapidly rising and falling, as all of the vampires surrounding him waited for the wound to close. Moments passed until Frank's heart officially cracked, the pain lashing through his chest like an intrusion he'd never felt before. His body trembled, eyes meeting Gerard's, and his vampire shook his head in defeat.

"Thousands of apologies, my love." Gerard strained out for Frank to hear, his lips dripping with Frank's blood.

Frank frantically shook his head, a small sob squeezing out of him. He wrapped his arms gingerly around his vampire and cradled his head against his chest to feel him close to his broken heart, hoping he could mend it. He wouldn't allow Gerard to say such words on his last few breaths, feeling them pierce through the tender flesh of his damaged heart with a jabbing agony he would never wish upon even his worst enemy.

"Don't apologize to me, Gerard, don't you dare." Frank cried softly. "All you ever did was protect me since the moment we met, and . . . until the moment we part."

"There is no end to my devotion for you." Gerard breathed softly. One of his hands slowly came to rest at the nape of Frank's neck, his fingers slowly curling into his hair, caressing the skin he felt there with the pad of his thumb. "I shall always be by your side, even when death comes to claim us."

Frank sobbed softly, his cheek pressed against Gerard's silky hair he'd weaved his fingers through time and time again. He never imagined death to be as tragic as those said it was. He found it to be a peaceful epidemic if it wasn't through the treacherous grip of violence, a reaper looming over the hovering spirit of the soul ready to take flight. There was another plane of existence Frank was certain of, tranquil and luminous, where pain ceased to exist. Immortality wasn't immortal after all. Tragedy would always loom over creatures walking the earth no matter what form they existed in.

Mina and Aura watched with ancient sadness in their eyes. Both women glanced at each other, tenderness joining in on their melancholy, and Frank believed he watched their entire story flicker between them in the small moment when they held each others gazes. They whispered something to each other, something Frank didn't catch onto, and they joined their hands together, intending to never let go until the end.

"I love you forever." Frank whispered to Gerard, squeezing his eyes shut.

"As I love you. You will always be mon humain, no matter what you are." Gerard held onto Frank, but leaned his head back, his eyes burning with eternal love that would go beyond the end of life. He would feel the same for his vampire, forever and always, there was no possibility that their love would die. Frank looked back at him, then at his friends, his broken heart scarcely beating.

"Thank you. For everything." Frank looked between Mina and Aura, watching scarlet leak from their eyes as they clung to each other as the fire drew closer with unbearable heat. They gazed at him with saddened kindness, smiling gently. Mina reached out for Frank's hand which he took, gripping it tight, and Aura leaned her head against Mina's shoulder with her blood tears staining the vampire's dress.

Frank titled his head down, his nose brushing against Gerard's forehead. He placed a lingering kiss there, his lips trembling. Gerard's breath shuddered with suppressed tears and he lifted his face up for their breaths to mingle together. Frank shut his eyes and closed the gap between them to kiss Gerard. Their lips moved gently, barely parting, soft and tasting of blood, but neither one of them had the heart to stop due to the taste. Frank's tears dripped onto Gerard's cheeks, tears he delicately wiped away. Behind his lids, there was darkness as they kissed, but the sudden coloration he found through the thin skin called his attention.

Frank broke the kiss to observe what was going on. The moment his eyes fluttered open, he captured sight of a blooming light slowly beginning to wrap around Gerard's abdomen. A kick of shock made Frank jump, his eyes widening as the brightness of the light appearing to be as graceful as a thing from heaven slowly began to brighten. Gerard gawked down at his body, then he looked up, as if he detected something from afar that Frank couldn't identity, and his eyes grew nearly as wide as Frank's. The heavenly light sprouting from the center of Gerard's body flourished, rising in rays of sunshine defeating the brightness of the raging fire so close to them. The other vampires had to shut their eyes and look away from the brilliance of the event, too shocked to do anything more but tense with high fascination and confusion. The sun bloomed inside of Gerard, withholding the heat, but containing the severity of its light.

Frank forced his eyes to open the moment he felt a wave of air fanning over him, the strength of the gust of wind moving tendrils of his hair and cooling the blood tears resting on his cheeks. He blinked away the haze of crimson in time to see the traveling wind push against the fire with mighty force, cutting through the crackling flames and splitting them apart until they dissolved into nothing but thick smoke and scorched branches falling onto the blackened floor. The smell of burning wood and leaves intensified as the smoke rose into the air and latched onto matching tendrils in a thickening motion making all of the vampires cough when it entered their lungs. Frank gasped, waving the curls of smoke away with ringing in his ears now that the sound of everything burning around him disappeared.

"What just happened? What was that?" Frank asked through a coughing fit, smoke brushing his lungs he wanted to expel immediately.

"I don't know. Is everyone okay?" Mina asked, waving her arms through the smoke frantically to clear the air for a somewhat breathable atmosphere.

"Frank." Gerard's urgent voice claimed all of Frank's attention. The smoke and the pungent smell of burned greenery didn't matter after he heard his vampire call his name.

His vampire who was sitting up without pain, without blood from his wound dripping to the ground, and without a disintegrating breath of light in his eyes when he stared at Frank in bewilderment. Frank reached out for him, wiping bloody tears from his face, cradling it in his hands and gazing into his eyes.

"Gerard, are you okay? What happened?" Frank's chest swelled with anxiousness, rising and falling quickly, and he looked all over Gerard's body to inspect what may have happened during the phenomena taking place before their very eyes. He looked at his wound, seeing the bloody clothing surrounding where it was--or, rather, where it should have been.

Underneath the torn and red clothes stained with blood, Frank could only see the smoothness of alabaster skin. Unharmed, a clean slate, not so much as dotted with crimson liquid still smeared all over the floor and Gerard's hands. It lingered on Frank's hands as well, but there was no evidence the blood came from any sort of puncture wound in Gerard's stomach, none at all.

"He's healed." Aura breathed in amazement, stealing the words from Frank's mouth.

Frank stared down at the pale skin at Gerard's stomach for another long moment feeding into his shock, until he felt gentle fingers tilting his chin up, his eyes connecting with the comforting and passionate eyes of his vampire.

"A miracle." Gerard whispered to him.

Frank cried out softly in relief. He lunged towards Gerard, flinging his arms around his vampire, clinging to him tightly as he never had before. He buried his face into the side of his neck as Gerard returned his embrace just as enthusiastically, rubbing his back with soothing hands as he kissed his hair with lips soft as rose petals.

"It must have been your bond, I see no other possible explanation for this." Mina sounded flabbergasted in the background. Frank opened his eyes and saw Aura grabbing for Mina, pulling her into a loving embrace as she let out a sob of relief. Mina's eyes softened, her expression filled with love that still made Frank's heart ache, and her lids fluttered shut as she held Aura close to her. Frank was hysterically relieved to see their demise had miraculously dissolved and they would live, and hopefully, they would see to their immortal lives together.

Frank's mind snapped back to reality as soon as everything occurring came to an end. Pulling out from Gerard's arms, unwillingly so when their comfort felt like heaven kissing his skin, the remaining evidence of Gerard's once fatal wound brought Frank's thoughts back towards the root of all the horrors set up in one evening. He could almost hear the bleak and sugarcoated laughter in his head, the venomous sound of Lindsey's amusement over her games of torture. She'd been the one who harmed Gerard, she brainwashed Jamia by using a vampire creator's bond to her advantage, and lead them to their intended death inside a ring of fire. The blood leaking into the tiny grooves in the ground wouldn't be enough to soak up the blinding anger filling Frank all at once. His teeth clenched together at the thought of her, his blood turning as hot as liquid fire shooting into his veins, and never before had he wished to see her rotting under the ground more than he had now that everything he ever loved was almost taken from him for good.

"I'm going to kill her. I'm going to fucking kill her!"  Frank bellowed, stunning the vampires still sitting on the ground when he bounded to his feet and retrieved the abandoned silver stake laying on the floor. He didn't care that the item was searing hot in his hand from how close it was to the burning flames only moments ago; justice was clear in his mind, landing on his tongue so he could taste the bitterness that would only turn to sweetness if Lindsey was killed.

"We'll help you find her." Gerard declared, rising to his feet in a flash along with Mina and Aura who detached themselves from each other.

"What do we do with Jamia?" Mina asked.

"Let her live. There's hope for change, I know the real Jamia is in there somewhere." Frank instructed. Frank held onto the most measly fragment of broken hope that everything Jamia said was implanted into her mind by Lindsey, persuading her to believe the most awful point of view in order to gain her affection and use her to get the London coven exactly where she wanted. He raced through the maze with the others rushing behind him, following their faded scent to reach the entrance once again.

When they escaped the maze, they all halted in their tracks. The smell Frank had itching his chest and his nose was not only the remains of smoke, but the fresh tendrils of it rising from the inside of the castle; the castle burning on the inside. He could hear the chaos caused by the blooming fire, the screams of the vampires escaping and running around the area. The fire just began, but inside glowed a threatening orange radiating thick smoke causing the many coughs Frank heard being expelled from the vampires who escaped through the front entrance of the castle.

The entire place could have been contaminated with dozens of poisonous insects and Frank would still not allow it to stand in his way. He strode forward, his hand firmly wrapped around the stake, but he stopped at the feeling of a hand yanking his arm.

"No! You will burn if you go in there!" Gerard stared at Frank like he'd lost his mind, the brightness of the fire giving Gerard's pale skin an orange hue.

"This is my only chance." Frank protested desperately. "We came here to kill her. She deserves to die for everything she's done tonight, we shouldn't even be  _alive_  because of her!"

"I cannot allow you to put yourself at risk." Gerard clenched his jaw, his eyes filled with miles of pain that would go beyond Frank's understanding if he hadn't almost lost his vampire tonight.

Frank curved his palm along the shape of Gerard's cheekbone, his touch comforting. "The fire just started and it doesn't seem to be spreading fast. I promise that I'm going to find her, kill her, and come back to you in one piece. You have to trust me."

"I do trust you." Gerard said, an instinct, warming Frank's aching heart.

Frank nodded slowly, bringing realization into Gerard's gaze. His jaw slowly loosened from its tense position and his lips relaxed from the tight line they'd formed into, returning to their doll-like shape. They slowly withdrew from each other with lasting glances, Mina gently taking Gerard's arm to pull him away or else he might have lunged for Frank during the last second.

Frank turned around, holding his breath and pushing down his need to hold Gerard as the world faded around them, and plunged into the burning castle .


	23. Crooked are the Damaged

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The war between good and evil comes to an end.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The last chapter before the epilogue! I'll save my mushy note for the last update.

Fire caught onto the most flammable items inside the castle first, flourishing quickly to swallow up the expensive rugs and the curtains bellowing out to the floor in front of the tall windows. Blackness swirled along the ruined fabric and scorched the ground it touched, skipping over the broken glass strewn across the floor from vampires dropping everything in their hands and escaping as soon as possible. Frank could smell the blood mixed in with the heavy scent of ash thickening in his throat, making him cough into his fist as he charged into the building. He struggled to track Lindsey and Jamia's scent, knowing they must have been hiding somewhere, and he stole a precious moment of time to think the way Lindsey would if he planned an extravagant escape. Panting, he shut his eyes, holding the stake so tight in his hands that his skin stretched over his knuckles.

Lindsey hid her coven of vampires underground, inside the catacombs under a lavish mansion slowly rotting from age, but the appearance of abandon was only show to persuade those passing by not to enter. Although the castle was sprung to life tonight, Lindsey wouldn't be so foolish to shelter herself in a room stowed away in one of the towers; she would make her way into a place were she intended to stay hidden for as long as possible.

Frank's eyes snapped open. He surged past the shards of broken glass, dodging the fire, nearing the staircase until he caught of a whiff of a disturbingly familiar scent breaking through the overwhelming smell of fire. Frank trusted his instincts and followed the trail to the bottom of the staircase where it seemed to end. The orange lighting and that of the brilliant chandelier swinging dangerously overhead cast a glow onto a small door hidden under the stairs, a smear of blood streaking across the bottom of the doorknob in the slightest amount, no human would be able to detect it. The scent of both female vampires clung to the door like a sickening perfume fumigating Frank's lungs. He yanked the door open with force, shattering the lock from the strength of his arm pulling at the knob. Shoving the door away, Frank was not faced with a measly broom closet as one might have imagined.

The doorway led to pitch darkness, an abyss containing a splintered wooden ladder descending downwards into the black smelling of molding and rainwater. Layering over the unpleasant scent was the smell of the two vampires moving downwards into what must have been yet another catacomb Frank was forced to venture into. Contamination must have lived in the underground due to the age of the castle, but cobwebs and black mold wouldn't stop Frank from doing everything in his ability to track Lindsey down and plunge a stake deep into her chest.

Frank tucked the stake into the pocket of his blazer and lowered himself down onto the first bar of the ladder with care, making sure his foot wouldn't slip before he guided his steps down the questionable item with his fingers gripping as tightly as they could to every surface he could find balance in. The darkness he descended into was deathly quiet compared to the bright chaos taking place above ground. Unease slipped into the bottom of Frank's stomach, twisting his insides into fearsome knots he attempted to keep down or else it would overcome him. Being renewed into a stronger form of existence didn't completely erase his human traits, his wide quantity of fear brimming over every other rational feeling raking up his blood. His breath shook as he struggled with himself, shakily moving himself down the groaning latter with a silent fear that it would snap and send him falling to whatever laid at the bottom. The grating of the wood underneath his palms would have easily penetrated his flesh if he didn't loosen his grip quickly enough as he moved down, averting from twisting his fists.

Dim light suddenly swelling up towards Frank filled him with extravagant amounts of relief just as his restlessness began to kick in. Peering down, he saw stone flooring surrounded by walls of the same material, puddles caking around the dingy ground. He quickened his pace until he reached the bottom, hopping down from the ladder when he realized he'd wasted enough time trekking down the length of it with fear pounding in the remnants of his humanity. Frank spun around and found himself inside of an abandoned catacombs coated in spiderwebs, ridden with leaks coming from the fissures ripping through the high ceiling above. The molding came from the water dripping onto the walls and the flooring, a never ending leak collecting into murky puddles eventually turning into a pungent, thick substance. The lighting came from lanterns hanging randomly along the walls, some fallen to the floors ages ago and shattered with broken glass stained by time. The flames bursting inside the faded glass must have been kissed by the flame peeking out from Lindsey's lighter, that being the only explanation for it.

Frank could smell the fading trail of the two vampires overlapping the smell of all else festering in the catacombs feeling too familiar for comfort. Lindsey must have viewed the underground differently, the familiarity bringing her a sense of homeliness where she'd built her tiny empire underneath a mansion in Jersey. Frank started moving forward, tracking the scent, letting it guide him through the twisting tunnels buried under the castle. The chill here was far more bitter than the cold of the nighttime above, coldness trapped between unfeeling stone walls and possibly hundreds of years of abandonment. No one in their right mind would ever want to venture into the darkness he'd climbed through if they were a mere visitor, a tunnel of black leading to no visible bottom unless the ladder was climbed. Embarking alone shook his resolve, but he'd never wanted to bite the bullet more than ever, forcing his legs to pump themselves quicker when at last, he could hear the treading footsteps coming from two vampires in the distance.

Frank froze up before turning around the corner beside him, silently hovering to pick up the words being spoken by Lindsey and Jamia in the hallway they stormed through.

"They'll find us!" Jamia cried, her voice echoing across the stone walls.

"They won't." Lindsey snapped, but Frank could hear the bridge of insanity forming her syllables, quivering anxiousness coloring in the gaps between the truth she attempted to grasp. "Not under here, the fools could never make it through the tunnels."

"They almost had us in in the maze, Lindsey, what makes you believe they can't track us down here?"

"I saved your life! Some faith would suffice for your lack of gratitude!" Lindsey's voice was nothing short of cruel, snapping towards a vampire concerned for their well being.

A pause dragged on as they embarked, leaving Frank to hold his breath. He silently peered around the corner until he caught sight of their forms in the distance. Jamia's wrist was in Lindsey's iron grip and she appeared feeble in the presence of Lindsey standing tall before her, a lengthening shadow hovering in front of her.

"I love you."

"Good. If you truly do, then keep moving." 

The response was from a woman built from the black rivers of venom, holding no true love in her heart no matter how tenderly it was doused upon her by a woman who Frank believed was still pure deep inside her heart. Manipulation blinded her human eyes as she took the form of a creature never suiting her gentle personality and her brain was swiped clean of all sense of good unless it somehow involved placing Lindsey on a pedestal as a gracious queen rescuing poor souls from the darkness. All Lindsey had done was slide her fangs into Jamia to prevent her decay, to use her against the vampires she spited if an army wasn't her choice of style. It triggered a ticking bomb built into Frank's chest, installed the moment Jamia was yanked from his grip by evil forces, and the explosion announced itself in a form of pure rage bringing shades of crimson into his vision, he could taste it like rustic, rotting blood on his tongue, and so he'd spit it upon Lindsey's corpse when she was dead at his feet.

Frank was flying before he could fully drink in that he was lunging for the woman set in his vision, rapidly entering his line of sight more and more as his fangs split out from his aching gums and his hand was poised around the stake held tight in his hand. Sensing his approach, Lindsey whirled around, her eyes glowing with an impossibly bright shade of crimson suddenly overtaking the normal darkness of her irises, and she lashed out with a cry ripping free from her throat. Frank's fresh transformation permitted him quicker senses, adrenaline, and his hand immediately captured Lindsey's wrist before she was able to strike him. In a nearly crushing grip, he pulled the vampire's arm with enough force to slam her against the ground. Jamia cried out near him at the expense of her shock.

Lindsey sprung to her feet in an instant, her wrist crooked alongside her twisting fingers, and she bared her teeth as she clicked her bones back into their place with a deep flinch.

"You're supposed to be burying a body, you imbecile." Lindsey's strained out, gnashing her teeth together.

"I will be once I'm finished with you."  Frank launched towards her again, the stake poised for her chest in his hand, only to feel the force of a body colliding with his side, toppling him to the ground. Winded, Frank glared up wildly at the vampire pinning him to the growl with a strangled growl emitting from her throat. His eyes met Jamia's filling with rich crimson, flashing with the promise of murderous rampage as she gripped his shoulders tight, yanking them up, and slammed his head against the unforgiving ground beneath him. Frank's fang slid deep into his bottom lip and a burst of blood began to drip from the stinging wound, a faint spell of dizziness coming from the impact of his skull against the hard floor.

" _No_." Lindsey bellowed, ripping Jamia away from Frank as if she were nothing but a measly ragdoll to be discarded. "You will let me finish him off for good on my own, do you hear me?"

"Lindsey!" Jamia sobbed as she was thrown aside, the brightness in her eyes dimming, but Lindsey merely snarled at her, causing the vampire to curl up against the wall with another level of paleness competing with the white skin of all other vampires. She looked upon the dueling vampires in fear, unable to make another sound.

Frank took advantage of Lindsey's distraction to wriggle across the ground, twisting his fists around Lindsey's ankles and knocking her feet from beneath her to send her nearly crashing to the ground if she didn't land with agile grace, an animalistic look tearing across her features. Frank lithely leapt to his feet once he felt all dizziness pass and he moved to reach for Lindsey, but her movements were nearly blurs as her speed was far more impressive than his own, he soon realized she was also provided with advantages he didn't have. He found his arms being tightly gripped, nails digging into the soft flesh, and he was roughly pinned against the wall in front of him, the side of his face smashing against the rotting foundation.

"Your lover left you to me all on your own, how pathetic. He must have wanted you to be killed." Lindsey taunted against his ear, her nails sinking deeper into Frank's flesh until the skin was splitting and blood began to roll down the length of his arms. He cried out from the blistering pain, his face smothered against the concrete, and a moment of panic crossed him.

"I wanted to kill you myself," Frank snarled, gripping the stake in his trembling hand, "not even Gerard could hate you as much as I do."

"And how could that possibly be?"

"You've taken everything from everyone that has ever meant something to me." Frank ground down his teeth against the pain shooting under his skin.

Lindsey's mocking laughter echoed across the catacombs, shrill in Frank's ear. Ripping her hands from his arms like the exiting glide of tiny daggers, she retrieved his form to slam him against the wall brutally by his throat, sending waves of pain and vertigo through Frank. He almost lost a grip on his stake, but he refused to let himself be belittled. He thrashed, his knee making sharp contact with Lindsey's stomach in two blows making the vampire curl in on herself instinctively. Frank turned his head and sank his teeth deeply into Lindsey's wrist to cease her grip, the thick stream of blood touching his tongue only expanding his satisfaction at the cry Lindsey released. He could taste her flesh as he ripped it from her wrist with his teeth, spitting the foul chunk onto the ground and feeling blood  spilling from his lips. She wildly retreated, giving Frank the opportunity to swipe towards her chest with the stake poised correctly towards it. She flinched away from him through her pain, but the tip grazed just below her throat, and though it remained shallow, blood dripped from the fresh line of a wound instantly against her pale skin.

Frank cried out in frustration. He swiped again, finding her naturally dodging each of his movements, until anger quickened his movements, and the sharp tip of the stake penetrated her side the moment he began to understand the strategy of her movements. Lindsey howled with pain, tumbling backwards as tears of blood immediately pooled in her bright red eyes. Frank smirked at the blood spilling from her wound as he ripped it from the hole in her side beginning to soak through her dress and the tattered rip ruining it.

"You're a fucking monster who deserves to die this way!" Frank's rammed his foot against Lindsey's wounded side until she went tumbling, gasping, her hair falling from its perfect arrangement to cradle her bewildered face.

"I've wanted to kill you since the day I met you, and now, I can finally see you pay for everything you've done." Frank fell onto his knees in a fluid movement and didn't care for the stinging sharpness of rubble piercing through his clothing. All he could address was his rage, his thirst for blood being spilled, and how pathetically afraid Lindsey appeared for the first time in her villainous reign; her eyes locked with death blazing in Frank's gaze.

Frank pinned the struggling, bleeding vampire to the floor, bashing her head against the ground for weakness to enter her struggle. Lindsey wailed, the sound strangled, and her nails clawed desperately at the healing wounds at Frank's arms. Frank straddled her quickly, his breath coming out in quick pumps of air as he wrapped both of his hands along the cool stake in his shaking hands. He tasted victory on his tongue, seeing the wideness of Lindsey's eyes gazing up at him utterly helplessly, and he raised the stake high above her heaving chest with the plan to drive it deeply into her heart.

"Frankie, no!" A familiar, sweet voice rang out along the lengths of the catacombs. The words bounced across the walls and deeply lashed out against Frank's chest rapidly moving up and down, traveling into his skull, and he froze all over at the sound.

His head snapped to the side, locating the voice he thought was lost to the darkness. He found Jamia in her vampire form still sprawled across the floor, but she began to helplessly writhe, beginning to crawl and stopping herself as she remembered Lindsey's command. Tears of blood spilled like rivers down her porcelain face and she reached out to Frank, shaking her head slowly through her sobs.

"Don't kill her, Frankie,  _please!_ " Jamia's plea at the end was almost a pained scream, making Frank flinch. "You'll never see us again if that's what you want, but please!"

Frank could feel her desperation inside of his heart. If she didn't love Lindsey as a mate, then she loved her as a dear friend who she truly believed was her savior despite the truth being twisted before it was fed to her. He could taste the horror he witnessed almost moments ago, the torture of thinking the one he loved the most would be ripped from his side and killed in cold blood by the enemy. In Jamia's eyes, Frank was her mortal enemy now, he abandoned her and allowed her to be thrust into the chaos of the vampire world when he only thought he would return to her with peace in his mind. Looking into her eyes now, he found that there was humanity remaining inside of her, but all of her faith was placed into the horrific creed of Lindsey. By killing the vampire, Jamia would never find it within herself to forgive Frank for all he'd done, all he would continue to do just by breathing.

Frank hadn't realized the space of time between nearly killing Lindsey and having his attention stolen away by the appearance of human Jamia was enough to lose everything he'd been fighting for.

Lindsey used all of her strength to lift her upper body from the ground no matter the agony it brought to her wounded side to crash her skull against the front of Frank's. The interruption of bursting pain throbbing behind his skull made Frank careen backwards, blood immediately beginning to trickle from his nostrils due to the force hitting a tender spot. Lindsey kicked out from underneath Frank and shouldered him onto the floor in the second he took to reel from the shock and the blow. His gasp formed into a choked cry of pain as Lindsey cracked her fist against his cheekbone and his head snapped to the side. He was pinned, and above him, Lindsey was practically foaming at the mouth with fury possessing her, causing the tremble in her frame pressing all of the weight of her strength against Frank.

"I will never understand how Gerard wouldn't give into me, but he could love such a worthless, stupid insect." Lindsey spat against Frank's throbbing cheek, her lips pulled back over her gleaming teeth bared towards him. "First there was Charlotte, then there was you. I knew I should have killed all of her descendants."

"Accept that he never loved you, Lindsey," Frank shook his head slowly, blood trickling from his nose and falling towards his lips and quivering in droplets like the liquefied formation of his resentment. "And he never will." 

Lindsey's eyes filled with glowing red speaking so familiarly to Frank when he looked up into them. Suddenly, he could almost feel the chill of unforgiving winter seeping into his bones, he could feel the ghosting sensation of murderous hands and the paralyzing fear from watching fangs burst free from gums in preparation to feast on his blood. He felt feeble, the age of seven once again as he found himself looking at death in the eye of a vampire, and nothing could prevent the rawness of terror kick-starting his heart no matter what form he took on now. He was gasping, trying to erase the memory, but it was so present, so vivid. He watched Lindsey snatch away the stake and pull it into her hands so her pale fingers spread along the steel, prepared to plunge it deep into the cavern of Frank's chest. He tasted Gerard then, he shut his eyes and found the warmth of his olive colored eyes greeting him before death truly twisted his entire being into a mangled corpse, and he prayed that if  he was torn into by his enemy, then he would float into the valley of death with the memory of his mate forever beating like a second heart inside of him, to mingle with his blood until they met again.

Frank was jolted from his journey of surrender by the weight above him being removed in a smooth second. His eyes snapped open in time to ear a blood curling scream echoing across the stone walls, the sound of struggles and heavy breaths, and the breeze fluttering past him carrying the scent of vampires he'd never felt more relieved to smell as he laid frozen on the floor. Sucking in a large breath, Frank immediately sat up in alarm, his gaze snapping across the room and finding a sight he hadn't expected to be met with. Lindsey, crawling across the ground with blood spilling from a fresh wound in her stomach, reaching for a bloodied stake tumbling across the ground. A flash of darkness approaching the winking silver turned into the form of Gerard, vibrant with rage and the beauty of an archangel. His hands were smeared with blood smelling strongly of Lindsey's. Jamia leapt forward to rescue her dying vampire, but she was captured--Mina and Aura held her by her arms, holding back the thrashing vampire baring her fangs and screaming until the grating of her vocal chords began to rasp from the strain.

"Gerard!" Frank cried, relief breaking his voice filling the room.

His vampire, his beloved angel, was filled with vengeance he'd never witnessed in him before. Gerard could never resemble evil even as his crimson eyes dripped with bloodied tears and his fangs were bared for the world to see, his hair a brilliant halo of tangled black waves surrounding a porcelain pale face. He didn't glance at Frank. He reached down to retrieve the stake Lindsey frantically reached for in her last attempt of survival. Lindsey wheezed, blood dribbling from her smudged crimson lips, her nails raking against the ground so roughly they split and broke. Gerard curled his fingers into her hair with an unforgiving grip and roughly dragged her across the ground, blood spilling across the stone in a bright current, and forced her onto her knees before him. Frank's chest clenched heavily at the sight of Lindsey, feeble and weakened as she struggled to breathe through the wounds embedded into her torso, deep enough for her to bleed out from, but it didn't seem to nearly be enough for her life to end at long last. Frank choked on oncoming tears of emotions overwhelming him as he felt blood seeping from the back of his head, grateful that at least it stopped dribbling from his nose. Gerard was an angel of fire, of revenge, and Lindsey was belittled into nothing at the expense of her defeat.

"Kill me. Please" Lindsey's strangled, broken voice sounded so different compared to the normal, wicked tone of it. She looked deep into Gerard's eyes, breathing raggedly as she bled. "If anyone was meant to kill me, I prayed it would be you."

Gerard's loud breathing trembled deeply at her confession. Her lies didn't run through her voice or slither through the cracks, she sensed her moment of ending at the back of her throat and she would never survive if she escaped now. All of the vampires in the room aside from sobbing Jamia stared at her in shock, beginning to watch the vampire unravel from her evil to expose who was hidden underneath.

"You should have said so long ago and I would have taken honor in killing you." Gerard's velvet voice ripped into shredded pieces of gossamer, falling to the ground in blood soaked tendrils. "Not for being the one you chose to do it, but for being the one who finally ended your miserable, vile existence."

Lindsey sobbed, shuddering, whimpering from her pain and her internal suffering unfolding as if her wounds allowed her secrets to bleed out with her. "I loved you, I  _needed_  you, you drove me mad!" Her cries of agony could have been heard for miles. "Everything I've built, all the vampires I've created, they were for you."

 Frank's insides went so cold, still, and he couldn't breathe.

Gerard shut his eyes tight. Blood rolled down his cheeks, tears shedding because through it all, Gerard could hate Lindsey with a passion overruling all else, but he would always  _feel_  when he shouldn't. Frank's eyes pooled with tears of his own, his eyes slowly falling onto Jamia who had crumbled onto the floor, smeared with blood tears all over, shaking brilliantly as Mina and Aura restrained her tightly with expressions mirroring Gerard's.

Gerard moved at long last. He ceased his grip on Lindsey's hair, pushing her aside. She crumbled to the ground, weeping and slowly wrapping her arm around her bleeding torso and the rags her dress had become from the struggles she experienced tonight. Gerard hovered over her, waiting for her to tilt her face up to meet his eyes. Gerard's expression was agonized, Frank could feel the great pressure of his pain inside his own chest, making him choke on a sob.

Lifting the stake, Gerard gave Lindsey one long look into her eyes. She was hopeful, pleading him to end her suffering that went beyond the blinding pain of stab wounds. Taking a deep breath, Gerard tightly shut his eyes, letting the breath out in a whimper, and his arm forcefully came down to plunge the stake into Lindsey's heaving chest.

The sound of the stake entering Lindsey's chest and pushing past her ribs to enter her heart was a gruesome noise, but Frank's stomach only twisted at the screams he would be sure to hear whispering at the back of his mind for the rest of his eternal life. Lindsey's howl as she was given a final blow, and Jamia's excruciatingly painful scream as she felt it all inside her own chest, doubled by the shattering of her heart as Lindsey was finally killed. Frank covered his ears to block out the noises, but his ultra sensitive hearing couldn't be phased by the action that would work if he was still human. His heart pounded and writhed at the sob Gerard trembled with, falling onto his knees to rip the stake out from Lindsey's chest to drive it inside again. The smell of her blood was all that Frank could breathe and the sounds of her twisting, pained writhing barely went over the wet noise of her blood dripping rapidly onto the ground. She was in a pool of blood from all else she'd been struck with, leaving her body dying slowly on the ground until her movements slowly ceased. She choked on her blood, gasping, but her lids began to grow heavy.

"I love you." She whispered, corroded by death.

Gerard ripped the stake free from her chest. He reeled his arm back and threw it against the rotting wall of the catacomb with a fresh splatter of blood sprinkling the stone once it hit the surface. It tumbled to the ground and Gerard rose from his knees, staring down at Lindsey's twitching body with burning eyes.

"Love sees no evil." Gerard whispered, eerie and broken. At long, he turned his head, his gaze capturing Frank's from the distance between him and the scene of gore. Frank nodded slowly, though he trembled as if he'd been the one to kill a vampire that evening. It was his way of agreeing with his vampire, his beloved mate who he could never see becoming so cruel to obtain his eternal love. He felt hollow, cold, but the moment would soon pass. He told Gerard as such with his eyes and hoped he would believe it, too.

"No, no." Jamia mindlessly mumbled. Rapidly shaking her head, she broke free from Mina and Aura, crawling across the filthy ground on her hands and knees. " _No!_  No, Lindsey." She fell onto the floor beside her creator who breathed her last breath before falling limp inside the mess of her own blood seeping into the cracks of the stone below. She lathered her hands in the blood, lifting them to her face to gaze at the dripping crimson with horror obscuring all of her features. She wailed, smearing the blood on her cheek as she tried to breathe through her cries. Throwing herself atop of Lindsey's body, she cried into her unmoving chest, wrapping her arms around her, covering herself in thick blood and caring little about it. She would have crawled inside of Lindsey's open chest and curled her body to sleep inside of it if she could, her wishes were visible in how her trembling fingers brushed the wounds. Frank couldn't look at the sight of intimate mourning, torturous pain radiating from each one of Jamia's pores. He screwed his eyes shut and turned away, laying still on the ground, trying to block out the sobs escaping Jamia's throat.

Frank felt a touch so tender on his cheek, it could have counted as a kiss. When it glided down to his chin, he discovered it was fingers placing comfort deep into his skin, no matter how heavily horrified he felt. He slowly opened his eyes and found his vampire gazing at him with boundless guilt in his eyes, his expression crumbling as he examined the blood and the damage caused to his lover. Frank wept immediately at the sight, shivering like his bones willed him to, and he realized he wasn't as strong as he thought he was.

"My sweet," Gerard rasped, his chest quivering. "It's over now."

The curtain had closed, the evidence of the massacre was there before him, but Frank couldn't find immediate relief. His skin felt tight and he was on most levels indestructible, but becoming a vampire hadn't robbed him of humanity, of feeling sick at the sight of a corpse, of being afraid of what would occur after the news spread that Lindsey was dead. She was  _dead_ , no breath came from her lips, no vampire would ever fear her presence again. He would never feel the burn of hatred for her running in his veins again and neither would his dear vampires he longed to protect, just the same as they'd protected him. They'd finally been given closure.

Frank glanced over at Mina and Aura. They sat beside Jamia with mourning visible in their eyes, but their shoulders were hunched in relief, feeling all the ties had been cut now that their nemesis would never mock them again just by walking the earth. Blood stained their gowns and continued to seep higher onto the fabric. His chest constricted as Gerard pulled him forward to tenderly kiss his forehead, stroking the healing  back of his head with a feathery touch to avoid hurting him. Frank leaned into him and embraced his vampire, inhaling his scent deeply, attempting to bring himself home through it.

"She was going to kill me and all I could think about was you." Frank whispered, pressing his face into Gerard's neck and growing dizzy from the smell of warm blood beneath the skin, the bitterness of Lindsey and his own scent.

Gerard said nothing, he only held him tight, peppering kisses onto any surface of Frank that he could touch with his lips, failing to hide how he shook in Frank's embrace. Frank consoled him with kisses to his neck, stroking his hair and gently beginning to rock him until it was Gerard melting into his arms instead of the other way around. His vampire nestled into the crook of his neck and clung to him with renewed desperation.

"It's okay." Frank whispered quietly enough for the words to only reach his vampire. "You did it, Gerard, I'm so proud of you. You did what no one else was able to do for years."

Gerard breathed shallowly, but he nodded slowly nonetheless, puckering his lips against Frank's throat to kiss him slowly as he fought to claim all of the calm Frank gave to him by his soothing gestures and voice. He'd seen Gerard be vulnerable, but not to this extent, and Frank decided he would always shelter him in times of need such as these because it made his love for him extend to indescribable lengths.

They held onto one another until the sound of igniting fire caught their attention. They looked up in time to see Mina had set fire to Lindsey's body, the vampire's match held in her hand. Aura stood beside her somberly, watching the fire licking over Lindsey's remains and engulfing her. Jamia had crawled away from her body to curl up into a ball against the wall, tucking into herself, her eyes vacant of all expression as the blazing shades of orange danced across the catacombs. She was smeared with blood and in her hands was a strip of black fabric, secure inside her fists; a piece from Lindsey's dress she kept for herself. Frank took in a shuddering breath and swallowed hard, feeling guilt as he witnessed Jamia grieving over the loss of her creator.

"She loved Lindsey." Frank whispered to Gerard. "Even if she was brainwashed, you can see her love was real."

"In time, Lindsey's effect will fade, and she'll realize the truth." Gerard's lips brushed against Frank's skin, making the latter shiver. "It . . . it was the right thing to do."

He was convincing himself more than anyone else he could have spoken the words to, and Frank caressed his hair with a loving gentleness to quietly agree with his vampire; it was the only thing they could have done to bring peace amongst the vampires, preventing Lindsey from causing more destruction. Gerard rested his head against Frank's shoulder, allowing himself to be rescued by bits of affection. Frank peered up at Jamia again through his lashes as his fingers tunneled through Gerard's hair to undo the knots, feeling yet another harsh tug at his chest demanding his attention. Another yank consumed him as a blood tear trickled ever so slowly down Jamia's face, mixing with the dry, smeared remains staining her white skin.

"Go to her." Gerard whispered. He sensed Frank's distress as much as Frank felt his, it was the trick of their eternal bond giving away how they may have felt in every situation. Frank looked down at his vampire at the same moment Gerard lifted his head. He gazed softly into Frank's eyes for a moment, giving a single nod, and he disentangled himself from their embrace to let his mate go to the vampire who was once his best friend.

Frank rose to his feet, helping his vampire with a grip on one of his hands stained by the blood of their enemy. Neither of them made note of it, giving a lasting look towards each other before they turned to approach different vampires in need of consoling. Frank made his steps light and slow, guarding himself in case Jamia unexpectedly snapped as she'd done when she was defending her creator. As he moved towards her, she didn't seem to realize his presence, not even when he took it upon himself to slide down onto the filthy floor beside her. There was a fair amount of space between them, but it was close enough to smell the overwhelming amount of Lindsey's blood in her hair, on her skin, staining her dress. The fire, the smoke, the blood, all of it filled Frank's head and made it spin round; he couldn't imagine the affect it took on Jamia. He took a discreet look at her from the corner of his eye. She stared into the fire with cold, hollow eyes, her expression giving away none of the grief she must have felt inside. One thing showed the turmoil of her broken heart and that was her clinging to the scrap of fabric in her fists, the last bit of Lindsey she had left, shaking around the black strip she'd ripped off. Frank swallowed thickly, his heart aching.

"I'm sorry, Jamia." Frank whispered, hoping his voice would float over to her.

Jamia didn't react to his apology. Not a single twitch came from her eyes, her focus, she continued to stare into the fire that had turned Lindsey into charred remains. Aura, Gerard, and Mina stood around the fire, holding each other's hands, watching the flames flicker by as they quietly held their emotions inside.

Frank licked his lips, tasting his own blood, and spoke again. "She manipulated you, Jamia. She did terrible things to people . . . but I know you loved her, and that love was amplified because you were bonded when she changed you. I know how strong that is, how it takes over everything." Frank's gaze floated towards Gerard, his heart swelling.

Jamia reacted then. She didn't flicker her focus to Frank, but to Gerard, for she knew who the vampire was referring to. Her lips twitched, parting to taking in a quiet, staggering breath, and she closed them again. Turning her head, her gaze caught Frank's, familiar in their color and their shape. A spark appeared behind them, brilliant pain she concealed better than anyone else Frank had ever seen.

"I wasn't in love with her, but I loved her. I felt her die. I can feel that she doesn't control me anymore." Jamia sounded like she did when she was human. Feminine, soft, but so torn apart that it scraped against the outside of Frank's heart, nearly enough to make him physically wince. 

"I know." Frank choked out. "I never wanted to hurt you. But I . . ." Frank's eyes flitted helplessly over the fire, over the vampires stood in front of it, his beautiful vampire angel, and onto his hands curled up in his lap. Blood dried under his fingernails and it would be nearly impossible to clean out entirely. It would only weigh on his guilt for the time it took to pass.

"I think you fell in love with him before you even truly knew him." Jamia chuckled, almost bitter, but the hint of sorrow ringing from it smoothed  over the shape edges. "Love makes people do crazy things."

Frank thought of Lindsey, driven mad by her desperate and failed attempts to gain Gerard's affection, falling to her knees and begging to him to kill her in her last moments. He thought of Michael, how his grief over the woman he loved falling for his brother and ending her life in the fallout of it. Then, of himself, becoming obsessed with finding the vampire he dreamed about, risking his life in the end to give him closure so no evil soul would ever hurt his love again. Jamia took her part in rage as a result of love, even if it wasn't the same love running deep in Frank's entire being.

"You never did anything crazy for me, thankfully." Frank, oddly enough, had to fight back a smile as he said the words. It was humor in bleakness and he still felt hurt inside even if the curve of his lips betrayed him.

"I did." Jamia's eyes were brimming with tears anew, causing all laughter to die and decay in Frank's throat the moment he saw them there. She looked at him with bottled up longing blended into their broken trust, the pain she endured while thinking he'd been killed.

"What did you do?" Frank asked, sounding empty.

"I let you go."

Frank flinched then. The guilt of his decisions sat heavily in his throat like it was meant to reign it for the rest of his immortal life and he wasn't sure how he would endure the many years with it. He hurt for Jamia, for her loss, for her unrequited love for him, for everything he'd broken at the expense of finding his vampire. It was cruel of him to abandon her, to believe everything would take a smooth route and promising her that before he left her in the evening and never returned. And yet, as he looked up and met the eye of his vampire, his Gerard, he didn't feel regret bubbling inside of him, awaiting to flourish and rot. He felt love when he looked at Gerard, no matter the situation they were in, and that was one quality that would never change.

"Love makes people do crazy things." Frank recalled Jamia's words, quoting them, holding Gerard's eyes while he said them. His vampire could hear the phrase, and though he burned inside, his lips twitched into a subtle smile. Frank smiled back, his heart squeezing in his chest.

He turned his head, meeting Jamia's eyes. She was agonized, miserable, but looking between the two vampires bonded in a way beyond words, Frank thought she showed a shred of understanding in her dark eyes clouded by crimson tears.

"I hope you can forgive me one day and see that I never wanted any of this to happen to you." Frank couldn't not tell her now that she was coming down from her crazed high, showing her humanity again. "I did all of this just to find you and keep you safe."

Jamia couldn't face Frank any longer and he understood her reasons no matter the sting he felt echoing all the way to the tips of his fingers. Jamia clutched the shred of fabric in her hand, slowly raising it to her lips, but not giving it a soft kiss as he would have expected. He stared at the piece of Lindsey's dress with a dry throat, suspecting what would come next for the both of them.

"All I want is to get out of this place." Jamia whispered, dismal and detached. She glanced at the fire once and flinched, turning her head the opposite direction and beginning to curl in on herself once again.

"Okay." It was the least Frank could do for her to make up for his recklessness channeling a destructive chain of events. Rising to his feet, he helped the trembling vampire up with a careful hand he immediately drew out from hers once she was situated, wanting to avoid making her pain more intense than it already appeared to be.

The vampires gathered together once movement was detected and Frank was able to offer an embrace to Aura and Mina who stood beside their troubles in order to gain the strength to take part of their coven back home. He registered the way Mina's breath trembled in her lungs and how wide Aura's eyes were, as if they couldn't grow large enough to fully absorb that Lindsey was nothing but a pile of ashen remains laying at their feet. Gerard reached for him, smoothing the pad of his thumb along the back of his hand when their fingers interlaced. Beginning to make their way out of the catacombs, Frank paused, finding that Jamia stopped treading quietly behind them. Gerard stopped as well as a cause of this, their hands still clinging to one another. Frank glanced back to see Jamia gazing down at the fabric in her hands, contemplating, her thumbs slowly stroking over it with a forlorn tenderness.

Drifting back towards the fire with the grace of a lonesome ghost, Jamia stared into the flames devouring what was left of a vampire she once loved. The colors projected onto her pale skin, her dark hair, engulfing her spirit. Frank gasped softly as he watched her toss the scrap of fabric into the fire. He felt Gerard squeeze his hand as result of his tension. The fabric was swallowed whole by the flames and it disintegrated into mere ash in the single minute that passed, melting into the collection of residue laid out across the ground. It was a part of Jamia's mourning that he knew was necessary for her to act upon, no matter how dreadful the tears running down her face seemed, no matter how shattered her heart was. She let go of the last thing keeping her tethered to Lindsey, letting it fade into nothing along with the remains of her creator.

She drifted back to the vampires waiting for her to return. Wiping her tears, she said nothing, and only continued to drift when the others wouldn't. Soon, they fell into step with her, and escaped the burning castle with nothing but memories to prove who had been the cause of the flames.


	24. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The red curtain closes over the image of tranquility at last for the two vampires with a love strong enough to survive every form of brutality.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the final chapter! I have something to say at the end, of course. :D

The vampires returned to their coven in one piece. Dawn would soon approach as the hours of the night slipped past them in their search for the enemy, and now that the vampire was slain, it felt peaceful to return to their home and to the vampires anxiously awaiting for them. They'd been prepared to mourn the loss of one of their own after surging into the partially unknown, but upon seeing each of the vampires step into their home once again, relief spread out among the entire coven surging forward to tend to all of them. Embraces were exchanged along with whispers of heavy gratitude that they were able to see each other once again, knowing Lindsey had been killed, and oozing their welcoming nature into their cold bodies to chase away the lingering trauma lining their minds. Frank's eyes still felt wide and he could still smell the stench of spilled blood in his nostrils when he breathed in, he felt the lingering shiver in his hands and he was so aware of the blood stains pressed into his clothing. His friends and his lover bared the blood serving as proof the evil had been put to an end, a bitter and gory sort of victory coming clean to the coven without many words needing to be spoken. He eagerly breathed in fresh night air and the smell of dewy grass surrounded by flowers all alike in their graceful blooming, the sweetness of their petals swaying to stray his mind's thoughts from the sight of blood and a burning body pressed behind his eyelids whenever he blinked. The scent of the other vampires were clean and warm, the mouthwatering scent of human blood clinging to them and drawing the conclusion that they chose to feed tonight to smooth over some of the abrasiveness of their wired nerves.

Frank watched Aura being swept off her feet by her mate in an instant, how her wild curls had kisses pressed into them as Marius cried softly while holding her tight against his chest. Mina was surrounded by her vampires tending to her pale form, the shock she felt settling deep into her, and she kept touching her chest as if pain lingered inside of it. Gerard was taken in hesitantly by his brother; the pair exchanged a look, careful and curious, until they decided to place their differences aside to wrap their arms around one another. Frank turned to glance behind him to see if Jamia followed. She had, but she hovered close to the door, feeling misplaced and frightened by the presence of many strangers. She caught Frank's eyes with her wide pair and parted her lips to speak, no words fell free from them as he expected them to.

He walked over to her cautiously. "You don't have to be afraid." He told her in the softest voice he could muster. "They're all kind. They took me and Gerard in, they helped us."

Jamia's uncertainty was tied to many things, not only being a stranger to the coven of vampires so warmly reuniting. He approached the subject gently, thinking it wasn't right for him to assume she would quickly join his coven and everything would be happily restored.

"I don't know if I can do this." Jamia finally vocalized her reason for keeping her distance. "I won't fit in, Frank, and I'm . . . I'm still deciding whether or not I can forgive you." Her eyes cast down to the ground in a shameful manner, but she held every right to be unsure where she could place her trust.

"Where will you go?" Was Frank's main concern. He was unsure of the whereabouts of the New Jersey coven and how Lindsey's death would sway them, where Jamia would wander to without the guidance of any vampire beside her.

"My coven drifted." Jamia whispered. "They grew tired of Lindsey's obsession and left. I can find someone out there, if they'll take me."

Frank wouldn't trust another vampire to care for Jamia. With the manipulation of Lindsey fading from Jamia's mind as a result of her death, he could see how truly vulnerable she was in her state, trapped inside of a supernatural body and left to her own devices when all she knew vanished from her grip. He hurt for her, wishing trust was so easily fixed to aid her in her journey. 

"Please, consider staying with us." Frank took one step towards her, a soft pleading note clinging to his syllables. "We can give you a place to live, bring blood to you, we can give you a family."

Jamia flinched softly at the last word he uttered, revealing that she was wounded by the loss of hers. Her glazed eyes drifted from Frank's form and onto the vampires murmuring to one another through embraces and relieved sighs. In the exchange, any vampire would be able to feel the love knitting together the London coven, bonds and alliances drawing them together from the beginning to the present, extending their welcome with open arms. Frank felt pride in being a part of it.

"I can introduce you to them." Frank suggested. "They've been waiting for you."

A puzzled look ghosted across Jamia's face at his words. She must have assumed that Frank abandoned her and her entire existence when he disappeared, but he would do anything in his power to prove to her that he couldn't forget her during the searing movement of events turning his entire life into something he'd never expected it to become. He'd been mourning for her before he grasped onto every shred of hope proving to him that she was still breathing some place in the hands of evil, every step he took towards danger was to rescue her. He was knowledgeable over the fact that the vampires in the room would crave to meet her, the reason for Frank's determination to take down evil once and for all.

Frank reached out for Jamia with an outstretched arm, his palm facing upwards for her to place her hand atop of it. She wearily eyes his fingers to the inside of his wrist, contemplating her next movements with careful thoughts fluttering across her features like an open book. Leafing through all of her options in depth, Jamia seemed to settled onto one conclusion that would be the best drawn path for her if she wanted to allow herself to live without the weight of not knowing what else to do with her existence sitting on her shoulders for the rest of eternity. Although forgiveness may not have nestled a crown onto her head, she found an answer somehow in the lines of Frank's palm, leading her to step forward and carefully place her hand onto the offer the vampire handed to her.

Frank flashed her a serene smile to assure her that she wouldn't regret her final decision. As he lead her to his coven, he kept her close behind his stride, slowing until he stood in front of the vampires turning a curious eye onto the new arrival pasted to Frank's shadow.

"Everyone, this is the woman you've been expecting." Frank announced once  it fell quiet, the air around him expectant. "Jamia, my friend, the human that Lindsey stole away and turned."

Now that the coven had a face to correlate with the woman of mystery holding great importance in Frank's life, it was as if a shroud of discoloration had lifted, an odd balance filling the atmosphere; the mystery had been the slightest weight of all, but it was enough to tip the scale so it went teetering towards the edge of the unknown.

"Dearest Jamia," Marius greeted her before all else, "Our very own human Frank so desperately wanted to find you. It is a great relief to see you've joined him despite everything taking place this evening."

Jamia's eyes, wide and glittering, stared at the vampire in shock. She was at a loss for words from the welcome she received, making Frank wonder if she believed she would be sworn off only for being tethered to Lindsey while she was away.

"We welcome you." Mina spoke up, attached to Aura's side as the vampire stroked her hair with a renewed tenderness she found within herself after facing the possibility of losing her dearest friend to the grasp of evil. "We know of your troubles, Jamia, of the horrors you've been faced with. You must know we are more than willing to guide you through it."

"And we can stand by your side during your grief." Laila stepped forward, her hands clasped behind her back and her eyes apprehensive as she grazed an incredibly delicate subject. "We felt her die inside of our chests, Jamia. For some of us, Lindsey was our creator, too."

Jamia's eyes flew across the line of vampires as she struggled to conceal a pained grimace from the reminder of her fresh wound festering in her chest. Frank could see she tried to identify which of the vampires belonged to Lindsey once in a moment of history, how many of them felt pain echoing inside of them when their creator was killed.

"I'm Laila." The fair-haired vampire stepped forward, a soft natured smile so unlike her mischievous personality grazing her lips. "Lindsey created me while she traveled through Wales in search for more people to add to her growing collection of vampires. She thought of me as a doll in my looks, and so she turned me into one of some sorts for her own gain."

"I'm Nadine," Said the brunette vampire standing beside Elora, stepping forward with kind dark eyes settled onto Jamia. "Lindsey changed me so I could always sing for her, she listened to me as I did my chores many decades ago outside of my mother's house as a young woman. She stole me away in the night and refused to let me see my mother even when I told her she was terribly sick. I haven't sang much since then . . ." She sighed, brushing her fingers against the tip of her thick braid reaching her waist, casting her gaze onto that instead, and Frank felt a tinge of sadness for her.

Marius, sensing a friend's sorrow, brushed his hand gently against Nadine's shoulder as he stepped forward. Glancing beside him, he summoned Aura and Mina, the two vampires awaiting for their introduction to wide-eyed Jamia willingly listening to each of them speak.

"I'm Mina, and this is my friend, Aura." Mina spoke once she was close enough to Jamia to hold her gaze steady, sympathy roiling into her eyes no matter how she may have felt inside about everything. "I will hold onto the evil Lindsey inflicted upon her and myself, but know that we were born from her bite as well. I was her first creation after Gerard and his brother, though I turned away from her immediately under terrible circumstances . . . The rest of us are either made from each other or lost souls who stumbled upon our coven. We've taken each of them in with love."

Frank watched the scene unfold before him, stepping away with subtle movements to watch Jamia from a spot further away in order to give her room to process all that was given to her. In moving, he found his way inside the circle of his vampire's embrace the moment he stepped back too far and his back brushed against Gerard's chest. His arms circling around Frank's body was an instant glide welcoming him into a loving embrace he instinctively melted into, finding that it was only the pushing gravity of their connection drawing them towards each other again. Glancing to the side through a building smile,  he found Michael discreetly watching the pair, almost curious over how they bled into each other with ease. Michael caught his gaze, granting Frank with a small smile holding nothing but kindness in it. Frank smiled back, grateful that he was able to do so after the painstaking process of watching the role of an enemy melt away from him.

"I think you all know how she found and turned me." Jamia's meek voice drew everyone's attention towards her. She swallowed quietly, her knees nearly shaking from the emotion overtaking her. "I was so afraid until she started to put all of these thoughts into my head. Awful things about Frank, twisting the truth and never mentioning a thing about what she's done in the past. She got into my head because of this . . . this  _bond_  that she would always rave about."

"The connection between a vampire and their creator." Aura explained softly. "The strongest bond possible. Love or hatred can run deeper than blood at the hands of it. It's the reason why she was able to manipulate you."

"Then . . . I'm very sure that I don't know the full truth about anything." Jamia's voice trembled. She stared with empty eyes at the ground, her lips parting and shutting again as she struggled to form words. Frank twitched, aching to help her, but he knew it was something she needed to go towards alone.

"Dear Jamia," Nadine interjected as she sensed her troubles, "you need time to grieve. Perhaps now is the time for resting instead of having everything explained all at once."

"Yes," Mina agreed, almost relieved to hear Nadine speak her mind. "The night has been unkind to you in such a horrible fashion, now isn't the time for stories."

Jamia looked up at the vampires, questions hesitantly floating in her gaze. "Rest? Vampires don't sleep."

A soft chuckle came from Laila who tugged softly at Elora's arm before she stepped away from the black haired vampire to approach Jamia with graceful movements. "We cannot, but we can definitely rest and have evening tea."

Jamia seemed incredibly puzzled over the sudden kindness shown towards her, alarmed underneath it all; Frank could see the tension in her shoulders, the way her eyes rapidly flew across every vampire in the coven. Her eyes flickered onto him and lingered, widening suddenly. Frank only nodded to her reassuringly, praying that she would learn to adapt, and she would begin to see the London coven through his perspective while they cared for her during her time of need. She required nurturing and he felt calm to know she rested in good hands when he couldn't so quickly stride into her life to play a comforting role when their trust felt frayed at the very least.

"Come with us." Nadine joined Laila at Jamia's side, and as Raveena and Elora hesitantly stepped forward to greet the new vampire, Frank watched as a majority of the coven's female vampires gravitated towards Jamia to bid her their names as they began to glide towards the stairs to introduce her to her chambers. A hint of a smile touched his lips, a curl of warmth in his chest, and he knew things would restore themselves in time.

"I reckon Laila took an instant liking to her." Gerard's velvety voice sounded so soft beside Frank's ear, causing the vampire's lids to flutter as it streamed into his mind and resided there.

"They all did." Frank's smile lifted further up at the corners, watching Jamia disappear into the halls with softly murmuring vampires guiding her through their home.

"My dears, let us all take time to ourselves for a moment." Mina suggested to the remaining vampires standing at the heart of the house. Though she tried her best to remain as put together as she always was in her role of being the mother of a coven, her tiredness was evident, dull in her eyes. "We have many thoughts and words to sort through on our own."

As the vampires slowly began to disperse in groups of their own choice, Frank and Gerard lingered, joined by Michael appearing to be entirely relieved that his brother returned home alive and well. Frank squeezed his eyes shut and turned in his vampire's arms to rest his cheek upon his chest, listening to the soft thud of his heartbeat buried under his ribs, and counting every beat as if it were a blessing; he almost went without hearing it ever again.

"Thank you for bringing my brother home. For protecting him." Michael said to Frank, sincerity ringing from every word.

Frank was mildly surprised for a second in time, but it shifted into warmth, a slight smile ghosting over his lips. "Of course. We protected each other."

Gerard's hand stroked Frank's hair with a soft touch, his palm sliding over his tangled locks and finding purchase inside them as his fingers began to gently smooth the tresses of hair while soft lips pressed to his forehead.

"When I felt her pain, just as the rest of her vampires did," Michael paused, his hand slowly coming to press above his heart. "It felt like the weight of the world lifted from my shoulders the moment  it ceased. It felt like freedom."

"Her control went further than any of us imagined." Gerard said, more meekly than ever. "She can never rule over us again."

"Never." Michael and Frank spoke at the same time, though their tones differed in a clash between blazing finality and ghostly nostalgia.

In the rubble of an atrocious evening obscured by ounces of blood being spilled, the last piece holding back the key to all the freedom of the world had been granted to all of the vampires. The lack of Lindsey's presence soothed them that no harm could be done as they once feared, all of her next movements always having an effect on the chain linking the vampire race together, bound by supernatural blood making each of them one of the same despite living souls differing from each other in ways at times unexplainable. It tasted like justice, sweet and light, closure gifted to the ones harmed by her presence the most as she inflicted her horrors onto some in far more drastic measures than she had to anyone else. Distaste at the mention of her memory would be eternal, but her kingdom of blood and bones would crumble into the ground beneath them where she rested forevermore.

___

The night melted into rich shades of blue and black once the hours hit a certain point where dawn would break out over the land in only moments. The stars still glistened like diamonds instilled into space to accompany the sliver of the moon hanging high in the sky, flooding the paved paths of the garden outside with mysterious white light grazing the flowers dripping with dew. The smell of unfurling roses and violets traveled down the cobblestone ground and settled into the leaking waters wetting the freezing stone of marvelously crafted fountains, carvings of tilting bodies tangling into one another with the brilliance of angel wings pointing towards dozens of multicolored flowers planted into rich soil. The smell of both earth and water was a rich indulgence mixing together under sensitive vampires noses breathing it all in each time a quiet breath was taken in to expand lungs, slowly breathing out to graze their tongues, followed by a repetitive inhale so the cycle went. Nighttime held a dry chill in the air barely moving at all, the sunlight absent from the sky to keep a certain amount of warmth underlining the cold.

Frank stood beside his vampire underneath a gazebo wrapped in dwindling vines and roses, twinkling lights sparkling overhead to illuminate their pale skin with orbs of gold connecting to create a roaming film of color upon them. Frank's fingertip grazed a shedding petal still desperately clinging to a rose, watching as it fluttered away towards the ground when it could no longer stand to hold on.

"Gerard?" Frank asked softly to break the silence between them. It was comfortable as they basked in the presence of many things alongside their own selves, but his mind was thinking, wandering towards curiosity hovering over a subject he hadn't dared to touch.

"Yes?" Gerard turned to glance at him inquiringly.

Frank met his eyes, looking inside them to find calm. When he did, he continued with his question. "What's Lindsey's story?"

Gerard didn't seem surprised that Frank was curious about her becoming. He knew she couldn't have been born tainted by such evil, something had to have rotted her heart to the point where venom pumped out of it in the place of blood. Though, he did hum softly in response to Frank's question, turning away.

"I suppose the time has come to share it with you." Gerard looked out towards the willow tree not far from where they stood, the quivering leaves shaped like forlorn teardrops reacting to the slightest breeze filtering through the air. He was almost wistful, touched by a bitter movement of his perfect mouth.

"She didn't turn out the way she did on her own." Frank shared his thoughts. "No one is born evil. Something happened to her, right?"

Gerard nodded slowly. "Yes, it started her off. Her upbringing in the vampire world was terribly unfortunate and I may have felt sympathy for her once, but her wrongdoings took the feeling away."

"What happened?" Frank whispered.

Sighing, Gerard leaned against the railing of the gazebo, his eyes trained onto his folded hands in preparation to dive into the tale. "It was the early 1700's. Lindsey lived in a dirt poor village with her mother after her father passed from a disease overcoming him. She was still young, not beyond her late teens, and she kept to herself while her priority was supporting her mother and herself in order to survive. At a time like this, starvation and illness wasn't a stranger to people living in the conditions she did. Lindsey, however, knew of a place down inside of a meadow deep in the brush near her village. Apples grew from a tree, fine enough for her to pick and sell to the people traveling through the village to collect enough coins to feed herself and her mother. She lived so humbly and dreamed of riches just as any poor woman would, it was such a saddening loss to see it crumble away when . . ." Gerard trailed off, sighing deeply again.

"When?" Frank lightly pressed, drawing closer to his vampire with intrigue.

"She met a man while traveling down to the apple tree." Gerard continued, far off in his thoughts while remembering the details he'd  been told. "She told me he was a mysterious person who frightened her when he appeared in the beginning. It wasn't until she realized his beauty that she was completely swept away by everything about him. His voice, his face, the strange grace of his movements when he neared her. He must have found her to be easy prey at the sight of her vulnerability, her purity. He told her that he was from another village richer than the one she came from. A valley where the sunlight rarely touched their land to explain the paleness of his skin--lies, of course, to deceive her in order to obtain her trust. His name was Ezra."

"Did he attack her?" Frank breathed.

"No." Gerard shook his head. "He seduced her. Vampires could easily hypnotize humans with their beauty, it's born into our kind for the sole purpose of attracting our prey to capture them with ease."

Frank's lips twitched into a slight smile. "Or it can make the human fall madly in love with them." He softly nudged his vampire's arm with his own.

Gerard's eyes glittered. He turned his head to gaze down at Frank, a half smiling tugging at the corner of his lips. His hand reached out to softly graze Frank's lips, tracing his chin, until he drew it away to continue the story.

"Well, Lindsey did fall madly in love, as much as she was lured into his traps. She would escape to the meadow more often to see him, he would wait for her underneath the apple tree every afternoon. His charm would keep her under his spell and it encouraged her to keep returning until she was completely and undeniably his in every shape of love known to man. He'd flatter her so by complimenting her beauty, her radiance, he would sweep her underneath the shade of the tree and kiss her until no other senses came to her mind. She thought she was loved in return, imagining that one day, she would spend the rest of her life with this man, even if others may have disapproved of her falling for a near stranger.

"The truth was that he didn't love Lindsey at the same level of intensity. She was a passing infatuation, it seems, and the magic faded the moment he stole her away in the evening to be intimate with her. Vampires can express intimacy in their own way, touch and sensation exists even if we cannot penetrate. During this era, intimacy and a woman's virginity were sacred and to be given only in marriage. Sex wasn't as normal as it is now, so for Lindsey, she imagined herself becoming a bride soon after her virtue was taken by the man she loved."

"Oh god." Frank whispered faintly, imagining where the story swept them towards next.

"Ezra was gentle with her." Gerard's voice lowered a notch. "An amazing lover for any woman to have, guiding her through each moment. Until the scent of her blood became too much of a temptation for him to control himself any longer. He'd been pining for her, and as Lindsey laid at her most vulnerable point, he found it to be the perfect moment for him to attack."

Frank squeezed his eyes shut, his throat tightening. He could envision the scenario in his mind as a fresh reminder of the nightmares he used to be tormented with in his dreams, sweet and erotic until razor sharp fangs sank into his tender flesh and ripped it apart.

"But," Frank opened his eyes, a sudden thought entering his mind, "He didn't kill her."

"He did not." Gerard nodded. "He took pity on her, he must have cared for her to some true level because he took it upon himself to feed her his blood as she laid at the brink of death underneath his hold. Lindsey wanted to reject it at first, his feeding had been violent enough for the pleasurable endorphins to not to enter her bloodstream. But the taste of his blood soon became a sweet sensation while it dripped into her mouth and she drank until she died."

"So, he kept her." Frank said aloud more to himself than to his vampire.

Gerard shifted, a frown touching his lips. "Not exactly."

Frank's eyes widened. He peered up at his vampire for answers and the man went to explain.

"She was his through the binding of their blood, yes." Gerard confirmed. "She changed from his attack and awoke in his village far from her own home, his face was the first one she saw the moment she awakened. She was horrified, she knew nothing about his true nature and yet she'd awoken inside of a cold body with no signs of wounds covering her body like she remembered. Ezra eased her into a state of calm and fed her warm blood from canteens he'd set aside, thinking she wouldn't want to feed straight from the vein without knowing the truth first. After Lindsey fed, completely shaken from finding the taste of blood the most enticing flavor she'd ever consumed, Ezra explained everything to her. How he was changed by his brother who returned from another country with immortality, his coven that took residence in the village, and the reason why he changed her. He sought out a mate to keep beside him forevermore, and he'd spent many years searching for the perfect beauty to stand with him. Lindsey had always been a beautiful woman, which was the reason behind his decision to change her.

"It took Lindsey weeks to adjust, to find her way after her rebirth, but her forgiveness came far too easily. Although he took her against her will, Lindsey loved Ezra with every bit of her heart, and with their bond between them, her love claimed every state of being. She couldn't bring herself to not take Ezra's offer of becoming his lifelong mate when she'd been entranced by him since the beginning. She had no way of knowing that Ezra was an unfaithful, sickening man too obsessed with power and women to truly value her love. He would never find devotion such as hers anywhere else, but he became bored of unbreakable romance so quickly after she'd accepted his hand. The bastard would leave after telling Lindsey lies to seduce other women, feed on young human girls while they gave him their innocence. Word of his infidelity spread around the village and eventually found its way to her. Ezra had been gone for weeks and he'd taken to another young woman the same way he had with Lindsey. His unfaithfulness was the reason why Lindsey shattered inside. Everything she believed in, all of the hopes for their love she held, and all of the changes she made to herself only to please him, it was ripped from her hands brutally and she lost all faith in love and trust when he never returned. It was as if she never existed at all. I think the reason why she created so many vampires was to fill the void he left inside of her. She hoped I would fill it, and perhaps I would have if she hadn't been so crooked." Gerard trailed off wistfully, ending the story with a breathy note.

It was the second time Frank was struck with a sliver of sympathy for the vampire known as a villain ever since she began to construct her reign of terror. Stealing human lives for her own personal benefit, inflicting horror upon those who resisted. It mirrored the emptiness she felt inside, the need for affection she'd been deprived up when her mate abandoned her after he took everything from her to sedate his boredom. Frank felt a tight squeeze inside his chest imagining himself and Gerard in such a situation. He couldn't fathom the eons of pain he would endure if his beloved vampire turned on him without so much as a cruel second glance to frolic with another mate.

"I wish she handled her pain differently." Frank's voice was small. "If someone had been there for her when he left, then maybe she wouldn't have lost her mind."

"Loneliness can trigger terrible darkness in a vampire." Gerard ran his fingers slowly along the railing of the gazebo, his eyes slipping shut. "We feel everything with an intensity impossible to humans."

Frank knew, he felt it since the moment he opened his eyes inside of a holy chapel in a form vastly different from the softness of a mortal. He let out a shaky breath, licking his lips. "I can understand why she snapped. I can't even imagine the pain I would feel if you were to find someone else and . . ." He couldn't handle finishing the sentence out loud, the words tangling up in the middle of his throat and forming a thick lump he forced himself to swallow down.

His vampire's eyes opened and settled onto Frank's face. They merged into a state of intense warmth and devotion sinking into Frank's gaze and connecting with his soul rather than hazel irises. As his lips parted, he breathlessly said, "I would never do such a despicable thing to you, my love. There is only you."

Frank's chest was instantly relieved of the building pressure of sadness lingering from Lindsey's tale. It opened and welcome Gerard's softly spoken promise as if he needed it to survive, grazing his shallowly beating heart filling with the intensity of oozing romance radiating from his every pore. He looked into his vampire's eyes and hoped he could visualize the aching love he held for him, transferring it across the heavenly threads of their attachment. He found success as Gerard's lashes fluttered, his form nearly sagging forward from the richness of heat and love dousing every inch of him, lavishing him as he deserved. Kicking into his own ribcage was the blooming of thousands of roses imbedding their stems into his bones, soft petals flourishing in his blood, so rich and sweet, and he knew it was Gerard's love filing him to the brim in return to allow him to see not a single inch of his utter entrancement went unrequited. Frank stepped forward, pressing his cool fingers to Gerard's chest, curling them into his clothing and gently gravitating towards him as he listened to the shaky breath his vampire exhaled.

"I know you wouldn't," Frank whispered, almost brushing his lips against his vampire's as the beautiful man moved in towards him with burning bright eyes and arms circling around his waist in an instant to feel him pressed against him. "You love me."

"I do." Gerard instantly breathed, the sound almost a soft moan as he leaned forward to press his lips to Frank's cheek, gliding them across his jaw, and pulling Frank into a tight embrace. "My devotion for you goes beyond the boundaries of time."

He was poetry, from the movement of his silken words to his roses planting themselves with care inside Frank's chest. He felt like poetry when his lips touched Frank's skin with a velvety feel to them and he wished to feel the slide of his elegant hands grazing every part of him to seal each of his softly spoke words into his flesh. Frank belonged to Gerard since he moment he looked into his eyes for the first time; there was always something so hypnotizing inside them that pulled Frank in like the rush of a river, untied to the enthralling traps of a vampire. He drowned in waves of olive green and sank to the bottom where admiring sands caressed his skin and arms of angels granted his lungs the ability to breathe once he submerged.

"I'm already yours," Frank kissed Gerard's lips, sentimental and soft, "but there's something that I want for us."

"Anything in the world, you shall have it." Gerard spoke so soon in response to Frank's words, rushing them out to capture his lover's lips in a kiss far more eager than the one they previously shared. Frank moaned softly at the pressure on his lips, the wonderful taste and movement of their mouths falling open in tandem and shutting again. His hands fell to the sides of Gerard's face and he stroked the pads of his thumbs across his jaw before he pulled away from the lips he wished to feel upon his own many more times this evening after he spoke.

"You don't even know what it is." Frank chuckled.

Sheepish, Gerard smiled, nudging Frank's nose with the tip of his own. "Pardon me. I tend to get carried away in your presence."

"So sweet." Frank whispered, kissing him once to sedate him a bit. "What I wanted to ask was . . . I know we don't need it because we're already bonded in a way beyond what's humanly possible. And I guess that human side of me that's still here wants to know if- if you'd like to marry me."

He struggled to speak through a sudden wave of shyness and uncertainty. Frank never imagined he would propose to anyone in a messy manner sounding more like a suggestion above all else, stumbling over his syllables just to get his point across the board. He prayed he hadn't made a fool out of himself, but his worries were completely blown out of the water when he found himself being lifted off the ground and twirled around.

Frank yelped loudly as Gerard twirled him, holding him close, biting back a fit of giggles when he was set onto his feet again and many kisses were being pressed to every inch of his face. He wrapped his arms around his vampire's neck, stood on the tips of his toes, softly laughing from the affection he received.

"It would be the greatest honor in the world to be given your hand in marriage, Frank." Gerard breathlessly cupped Frank's face between his hands, cradling him safely between them. His eyes glittered brightly with hundreds of years making them wise, but love beside his pupils giving them the glow of youth. 

"You don't think it's silly?" Frank only wanted to be certain, though his heart jumped with glee.

"Of course not," Gerard said softly and shook his head, "I could never think of anything you say as silly."

Gerard spoke the truth and Frank believed it saved his life when he needed it the most. Reaching towards himself beginning to coalesce in darkness was the light fixating on his fragile heart of glass to mend the fissures and pursuing something far more pure for the both of them to explore while becoming one.

"Then let's do it." Frank nodded, floating it seemed. "Whenever you want."

Turning him to press his back against the railing of the gazebo, Gerard kissed Frank once more under the fairy lights mimicking the stars since beginning to fade at the brilliance of dawn spreading across the earth in the distance. Frank had never felt so complete underneath the night sky.

                                                                  
—♡—

**FIVE MONTHS LATER**

Vampires stared in awe at the sunlight peeking through stained glass windows to shine upon tenderly beloved souls joining their hearts together in traditional union. An act of forming an everlasting bond lived on for all human-like creatures steady on the earth, but nothing could quite amount to the joining of vampires hidden underneath lace veils, awaiting for the kiss of blood and eternity to seal their vows forevermore. Vampires formed their own traditions tied to rituals of marriage and it was found to be far more intimate than the arranged words of a priest and gowns of white dragging amongst fallen petals sprinkled over pathways. Marriage, in the eyes of a fanged creature, was meant to be an elegant offering to one another, binding blood and promises of romance lasting for the moments where they endured the infinite lines of time. It was as sacred as the process of creating a mate through the bite of venom and draining blood, and if both were practiced by mates finding their way to one another, their love would stretch beyond the most impeccable levels of all tales telling of sweet kisses; romantic tales held not even a weakened flicker of a dying candle to the bond between a vampire and their heavenly partner bound to them for as long as they should continue to breathe.

Mina stood between the vampires standing at the alter across from one another. She adorned herself in layers of white silk to appear as holy as the action she'd been requested to perform by the pair of lovers. Their trust and gratefulness to their coven leader was granted to her when they asked her to do the honor of binding them together inside the manor's chapel, a task she accepted with immense joy close to mirroring their own. Frank glanced at her as she spoke out to their coven about the lovers stood before her, their union taking place. Then, his eyes flickered over to the pews occupied by dozens of familiar faces, some new and some old. Jamia sat beside Laila, her happiness having been slowly restored during her stay in London. Granting Frank with her trust once more was a slow becoming, but one he waited patiently for until it became too simple to join her in laughter once again after her wounds were sealed. Beside the female vampires sat Michael, accompanied by his human mate he vowed he would grant with immortality once she was prepared for the change. It was only a matter of time before she would become one of their own; Kristin had fallen deeply in love with Michael as he had with her, only seeming to intensify with every passing day. Across from them was Aura dressed in skirts of lavender, her red curls held at the nape of  her neck and her hand folded with her mate's. Undoubtedly, they recalled their own wedding while attending Frank and Gerard, silent memories in their glistening eyes.

Among his own coven were new members adding to the number occupying the pews. Jamia told him on the night of Lindsey's death that her coven drifted from Lindsey after growing tired of her obsessions, their whereabouts unknown. As time ticked past, the vampires slowly began to trickle into their home one by one, lost souls capturing word about the welcoming coven residing in London. Not all had joined them, but most did, and he found that the evil he fearfully witnessed while he was human was yet another wicked game Lindsey participated in. Her manipulation reached many of the vampires she created and her affects faded entirely after her death. Their kindness peeked through the moment they were shown such a feeling upon their entry and so it built a family consisted of many new members firmly believing they'd found their true home. Frank smiled softly, turning away when Mina asked him to begin their vows.

"I give to thee my eternal devotion, my endless love, and my infallible vow to protect thee from every form of darkness. May these hands lift you in times of need, may our hearts beat together in everlasting friendship. " Frank repeated his vows he'd long since memorized with great anticipation. He could barely see his vampire through his crimson red veil and the same material hovering over Gerard's face, but the subtle glow of vampiric eyes he found behind the layers between them connected to his soul glowing with joy.

"I grant to thee my sacred vow of love by offering the blood inside my veins to mix with your own, a physical form of all I wish to give." Frank reached for the small dagger Mina held out to him. The golden blade glittered under a beam of sunlight streaming in, the handle smooth under his hand. Hovering his palm above a bejeweled chalice placed on the table, Frank brought the tip of the blade to his flesh and dug it inside to create a gash deep enough to shed blood. He flinched only subtly at the sting, his blood dribbling into the chalice as he curled his hand into a fist, only drawing it away from above the cup when the wound healed itself.

Mina dragged a velvety cloth over the blade to rid of the smear of blood smudging across the gold. "Now for your exchange, Gerard." She placed the cloth onto the table and held the blade out with serene patience.

The vows rolled off of Gerard's tongue like rich silk captivating Frank with every single syllable. "I give to thee my eternal devotion, my endless love, and my infallible vow to protect thee from every form of darkness. May these hands lift you in times of need, may our hearts beat together in everlasting friendship. I grant to thee my sacred vow of love by offering the blood inside my veins to mix with your own, a physical form of all I wish to give."

Frank's eyes clung to every movement Gerard made. His vampire elegantly took the dagger from Mina's hands holding it out to him, bringing his hand to hover above the chalice stained with a small puddle of Frank's blood. Sliding the blade over his palm, a wound formed in the ivory skin and fresh crimson poured from it with an ever so appetizing scent making Frank's heart race. He watched breathlessly as Gerard's blood fell onto his own and continued to do so until his wound shut itself.

"The blood has been spilled." Mina announced, cleaning the blade and sheathing it in leather to place it to the side. "Lift each other's veils and drink, a sip for the lovers."

Gerard reacted first. He reached out for Frank as they took two steps towards each other to complete the next part. His hands moved with such elegance as he gently grasped the end of Frank's crimson red veil, lifting it over his head and letting it flutter towards the ground once it slipped from his hair. Once it was removed, Frank reached out, surprised his hands weren't shaking with anticipation, and he grasped Gerard's red veil delicately to lift it. He was stunned by the beauty of Gerard's face being revealed, though he'd seen it a multitude of times. Loving eyes burned into his own, surrounded by the faint dusting of red shadows from fine powder, his silky black tresses making the removal of his veil much easier. He watched as his vampire reached for the chalice, pale fingers wrapping around the golden stem. He rose it to his lips, tilting it back slightly, and the moment their blood touched his tongue,  his eyes fluttered as a drop of darkness entered them from the nearly arousing intimacy the flavor provided.

Frank took the chalice being offered to him when Gerard had sipped the crimson, the liquid staining his small lips. Frank parted his lips and took a sip of the remainders of their blood. The stunning and rich flavor danced over his tongue and he struggled not to moan from the taste. Drawing the chalice away, Mina placed it beside the dagger, a smile beginning to form on her face.

"Now, immortal lovers, the consumption of yours vows has allowed your souls to link together, forming a bond tethering you to one another for as long as you both shall live." Mina took one step away, glancing between the vampires beginning to beam at one another in wonder with blood tinting their lips red. "For the last step, a kiss to seal your love."

Frank's chest filled with soaring rose petals, immediate warmth imploding at the core of his heart once aching and now complete with love he could never exist without. His breath already escaped him by the time the gap closed between himself and his vampire and their lips pressed together in a firm, searing kiss, weaved with golden threads of love causing their arms to wrap around each other securely. Frank could taste blood on both of their lips, blending together yet again, combined with the sweetness of Gerard's lips softly moving against his own. He wished he could have withered away inside the kiss, staying inside it forever, his fingers curling into soft black locks of hair he couldn't help brushing through whenever he was kissed so adoringly by his vampire. His vampire, his mate, his husband.

They pulled apart when they equally decided their kiss lasted long enough. They gazed at each other in amazement, faces close together, sharing quick breaths mingling together.

"With romance's tender breath bestowed upon blood-stained lips, the vampires have become one." Mina couldn't contain her squeal of delight, breaking out into a wide grin at her final words.

Applause broke over across the crowd of vampires who sat at the edges of their seats throughout a wedding far more intense than any other scene of romance in films or storybooks, enrapturing all who had the privilege to witness it. Frank found his lips being claimed again, though it was a bit difficult to kiss his vampire properly when he could barely hold back his grin. Gerard held Frank against him tightly, spinning him in a slow circle, and the vibration of his laughter between their mouths made Frank's head whirl pleasantly.

He continued to spin in a dizzy haze of pure love later in the evening when festivities ended, when the coven had departed to their chambers after many drinks and dances later, finding themselves spun into one another's embrace in a room lit by dozens of long candles. In the center of it all, Frank swayed with Gerard in a dance of their own. Slow twirls, lingering kisses, soft whispers being exchanged as Frank's vampire dipped him backwards only to draw him back up again to lay his lips over his in a kiss. His lips were like the beckoning call of all Frank ever ached for, all he ever needed with an intensity for strong inside him that it could have pulled him apart if he chose to ever avoid it. He thanked the stars above for the time he gained the courage to confess his love to Gerard just as it appeared like a fresh bud of a flower in his heart, having yet to fully bloom until he belonged to his vampire completely. He felt their lips part to deepen their kiss and his knees weakened, hands tugging at the lapel of Gerard's blazer. The small rose nestled inside the material brushed against his fingers.

"How I've ached to have you in every form possible, my love." Gerard swept Frank into his arms in a swift motion, connecting their lips into a kiss far more passionate as Frank let out a soft whimper while his legs wrapped around his vampire's waist with ease.

"I love you," Frank breathed, only breaking the kiss for a moment to say these words. "I thought I was going to lose you and I swear angels came to save you when they felt my pain. Fuck, how could I live without you?"

Gerard draped Frank across their bed and followed him onto it. Hovering above his husband, Gerard looked deeply into Frank's eyes with candlelight casting shadows over his skin. Frank wrapped his legs around Gerard again, pulling him in, but he sensed his vampire's hesitation.

"What is it?" He asked, his voice breathy.

Gerard rolled his lips into his mouth, one hand coming down to stroke Frank's cheekbone. "An angel was indeed present when I miraculously healed."

Frank's brows furrowed, struck by mystery. "What do you mean?"

"She was there, Frank." Gerard choked softly, his eyes falling shut. "I felt her presence, I heard her voice. She finally heard me and came to me when I needed her. But it was not in the way I always envisioned . . . I didn't need to see her to apologize or to give my love to her, I needed her to save me so I could stay here on earth with you."

Frank instantly knew who Gerard was speaking about. Charlotte, how her presence came down from the beyond her soul rested in, grasping the shadow of death surrounding Gerard and his lover to yank it back into the universe it crept out from. Thinking deeper about it, Frank realized that there could have been no other possible explanation for the miracle of Gerard's healing, how the fire closing in on them vanished in a gust of wind appearing out of no where. It wasn't no where, it was from a world between sight and sensation, invisible to the naked eye.

"Do . . . do you really think she saved you so you could stay with me?" Frank's fingers captured a lock of hair falling towards Gerard's face, gingerly tucking it behind his delicate ear.

"I do." Gerard nodded, entirely certain. "I know now why she never came to me when I called to her before. I didn't truly need her, I only thought I did. I wasn't meant to grieve eternally over a lost love, I was meant to become your creator, your husband." His fingers began to shake whilst tracing the curve of Frank's lips, his voice trembling just the same. Slowly, they trailed down to the beads of Charlotte's rosary hanging around Frank's neck.

Frank's insides quivered, utterly captivated and falling in love all over again. He grasped Gerard's hand between both of his own, kissing his fingers, trailing his lips down to his palm where a dagger once slid across it to drip blood into a puddle of his own. "I was meant to be yours. There's a reason why we were drawn to each other, I knew it in my heart."

Desperately, their lips met again, continuing to press kisses onto one another until they grew in heat, longing, building passion formed for the sensations of shared emotions leaving nothing at all to imagination any longer.

"I am eternally yours." Frank panted, silky kisses abandoning his lips and leading down to his neck.

"Eternally yours, mon humain."

 

**END.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've written plenty of things in my life, many phases of different fanfictions and personal, handwritten stories I'd stuff into a bulging folder far too full to keep its form at some point. And yet, I can say that this is one of the best things I've ever written. It has its flaws, I would rewrite some parts and add in more things, but I think that would be better to see when I work on this idea as a real book you can hold in your hands one day. 
> 
> Thank you all for your kind comments, your compliments have flattered me deeply and they encourage me to keep up with my passion. I hope you enjoyed this and that the ending was satisfying. I enjoyed writing every piece of this and I'll hold it dear to my heart for a very long time. xo


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